Books with title Robert's Rules of Order

Everything you need to know about parliamentary procedure in terms of organizing and running different types of meetings can be found in this comprehensive 3-panel guide. All of the guidelines featured in the original Robert’s Rules of Order publication―from key definitions to step-by-step meeting procedures―are described in up-to-date detail through BarCharts’ handy color-coded format.

The only authorized edition of the classic work on parliamentary procedure, with new and enhanced features, including how to conduct electronic meetingsRobert's Rules of Order is the book on parliamentary procedure for parliamentarians and anyone involved in an organization, association, club, or group and the authoritative guide to smooth, orderly, and fairly conducted meetings and assemblies. This newly revised edition is the only book on parliamentary procedure to have been updated since 1876 under the continuing program of review established by General Henry M. Robert himself, in cooperation with the official publisher of Robert's Rules. The eleventh edition has been thoroughly revised to address common inquiries and incorporate new rules, interpretations, and procedures made necessary by the evolution of parliamentary procedure, including new material relating to electronic communication and "electronic meetings."

Originally published in 1896, "Robert's Rules of Order," remains to this day the manual of choice when it comes to conducting orderly productive meetings. Written originally as a manual for parliamentary procedure anyone attempting to conduct a meeting will find this little book of extreme help. If you find yourself conducting a meeting and find it less productive than you might have hoped you will be greatly aided in reading this volume. Don't start your next meeting without it.

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, commonly referred to as Robert’s Rules of Order (or simply Robert’s Rules), is a "Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies" and the most widely used manual of parliamentary procedure in the United States. It governs the meetings of a diverse range of organizations—including church groups, county commissions, homeowners associations, nonprofit associations, professional societies, school boards, and trade unions—that have adopted it as their parliamentary authority. The manual was first published in 1876 by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert, who adapted the rules and practice of Congress to the needs of non-legislative societies. Ten subsequent editions have been published, including major revisions in 1915 and 1970. The copyright to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised is owned by the Robert's Rules Association, which selects by contract an authorship team to continue the task of revising and updating the book. The 11th and current edition was published in 2011. In 2005, the Robert's Rules Association published an official concise guide, titled Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief. A second edition of the brief book was published in 2011. The first edition of the book, whose full title was Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies, was published in February 1876 by then U.S. Army Major Henry Martyn Robert (1837–1923) with the short title Robert's Rules of Order placed on its cover. The procedures prescribed by the book were loosely modeled after those used in the United States House of Representatives, with such adaptations as Robert saw fit for use in ordinary societies. Although he was in the military, the rules in his book were not based on military rules. The author's interest in parliamentary procedure began in 1863 when he was chosen to preside over a church meeting and, although he accepted the task, he felt that he did not have the necessary knowledge of proper procedure. In his later work as an active member of several organizations, Robert discovered that members from different areas of the country had very different views regarding what the proper parliamentary rules were, and these conflicting views hampered the organizations in their work. He eventually became convinced of the need for a new manual on the subject, one which would enable many organizations to adopt the same set of rules Henry M. Robert himself published four editions of the manual before his death in 1923, the last being the thoroughly revised and expanded Fourth Edition published as Robert's Rules of Order Revised in May 1915. By this time Robert had long been retired from the Army with the rank of brigadier general. The revisions were based on the feedback from hundreds of letters that Robert had received through the years. In addition, to explain the rules in Robert's Rules of Order Revised (abbreviated ROR), Robert published an introductory book for beginners titled Parliamentary Practice: An Introduction to Parliamentary Law in 1921 and a full book of explanations titled Parliamentary Law in 1923. Through a family trust, and later through the Robert's Rules Association (which is made up of descendants of Henry M. Robert), several subsequent editions of Robert's Rules of Order have been published, including another major revision of the work. The Seventh Edition, published in February 1970 on the 94th anniversary of the publication of the First Edition, was the first under the title Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR). The subsequent editions were based on additional feedback from users, including feedback received by electronic means in recent years. These later editions included material from Robert's Parliamentary Practice and Parliamentary Law.

Originally published in 1896, “Robert’s Rules of Order,” remains to this day the manual of choice when it comes to conducting orderly productive proceedings. As General Henry M. Robert describes in his preface to the work, “The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish in the best possible manner the work for which it was designed. To do this it is necessary to restrain the individual somewhat, as the right of an individual, in any community, to do what he pleases, is incompatible with the interests of the whole. Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty. Experience has shown the importance of definiteness in the law; and in this country, where customs are so slightly established and the published manuals of parliamentary practice so conflicting, no society should attempt to conduct business without having adopted some work upon the subject as the authority in all cases not covered by its own special rules.” Whatever the intent of an assembly may be it needs some formalized procedure to conduct its business in an orderly fashion. In the absence of an established set of procedures for assembly meetings “Robert’s Rules of Order” provides an effective set of rules for conducting orderly proceedings. This edition follows the revised 1915 edition.

Originally published in 1896, “Robert’s Rules of Order,” remains to this day the manual of choice when it comes to conducting orderly productive proceedings. As General Henry M. Robert describes in his preface to the work, “The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish in the best possible manner the work for which it was designed. To do this it is necessary to restrain the individual somewhat, as the right of an individual, in any community, to do what he pleases, is incompatible with the interests of the whole. Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty. Experience has shown the importance of definiteness in the law; and in this country, where customs are so slightly established and the published manuals of parliamentary practice so conflicting, no society should attempt to conduct business without having adopted some work upon the subject as the authority in all cases not covered by its own special rules.” Whatever the intent of an assembly may be it needs some formalized procedure to conduct its business in an orderly fashion. In the absence of an established set of procedures for assembly meetings “Robert’s Rules of Order” provides an effective set of rules for conducting orderly proceedings. This edition follows the revised 1915 edition and is printed on premium acid-free paper.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

There appears to be much needed a work on parliamentary law, based, in its general principles, upon the rules and practice of Congress, and adapted, in its details, to the use of ordinary societies. Such a work should give, not only the methods of organizing and conducting the meetings, the duties of the officers and the names of the ordinary motions, but in addition, should state in a systematic manner, in reference to each motion, its object and effect; whether it can be amended or debated; if debatable, the extent to which it opens the main question to debate; the circumstances under which it can be made, and what other motions can be made while it is pending. This Manual has been prepared with a view to supplying the above information in a condensed and systematic manner, each rule being either complete in itself, or giving references to every section that in any way qualifies it, so that a stranger to the work can refer to any special subject with safety.