SAN MATEO (05/23/2000) - National Association of State Information Resource Executives (NASIRE) - www.nasire.orgWhat you'll find: This site offers news and resources to state IT executives.
You can search for state news, read government reports, and find out about NASIRE events. There's a password-protected "Members Only" portion.
What you won't: You won't see dedicated sections for career development, training, or recruiting.
The essentials: The Web site appears to be most useful to NASIRE members.
Private-sector technology companies can also join as corporate sponsors for $3,500. Universities and non-profits can join for $500.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) - www.naco.orgWhat you'll find: This association site offers general information and resources to county-level government officials. There are IT and workforce-development sections at the site, as well as an IT discussion forum.
What you won't: You won't find news generated by sources other than NACo; most of the information provided on the site appears to come from the association.
The essentials: NACo also allows "select" tech companies to join and "feature products and services to county governments." NACo members can get free Internet access and e-mail via an agreement with ISP Juno.
The Council of State Governments (CSG) - www.csg.orgWhat you'll find: A jam-packed site full of state-related news from independent sources, research, and council information. You can also buy related publications or rent the council's list of government officials via the online store.
What you won't: This site lacks areas dedicated to IT or career development, recruiting, and training. When this writer attempted numerous searches on the site, error messages were the only response.
The essentials: This site aims to be a one-stop shop for state officials' news and resources -- a notice on this site says that it is updated with news every weekday.