ARTICLE I                  Purpose and Outcome

The Josiah Royce Edition seeks to preserve and disseminate the totality of the work of Josiah Royce through the digitization of his manuscripts, the transcription of his work into a digitally readable format, the reconstruction of the versions of his published writings, and the digital publication of all of his writings and correspondence.

ARTICLE II           General Plan

The edition will use a team of transcribers, textual editors, and scholarly researchers from various colleges, universities, or research centers.  The plan is to make available all of Royce’s published materials, transcriptions of manuscripts, and other materials that will provide insight into the work of Josiah Royce.

ARTICLE III          Relation to the Josiah Royce Society

The Edition Board is independent of the Josiah Royce Society.  The two groups work cooperatively in all endeavors related to the dissemination of Josiah Royce’s papers.

ARTICLE IV         Relation to the Josiah Royce Foundation

The Edition Board is independent of the Josiah Royce Foundation. The two groups work cooperatively in all endeavors related to supporting the Edition. The Foundation will raise funds, which can be provided to the Critical Edition.

ARTICLE V         Board Membership

The Edition Board is self-perpetuating. Current board members choose additional or subsequent board members.  Any board member may suggest a candidate for board membership. A board member is selected by a majority vote of the full board then current.

A board member serves until resigning or the board requests a resignation.  Resignation, voluntary or involuntary, is signified in writing by or to the Chair of the Board, and accepted by a majority vote of all other members of the board including the Chair.

Should all the edition board members cease being board members, the Josiah Royce Society shall appoint three individuals to reconstitute the Edition Board.

Board membership shall normally consist of eight members, but that number may be reduced or increased with a majority vote of the board.  Incapacitated board members may abstain from voting.

ARTICLE VI        Officers

Officers of the Board consist of a Chair, a Vice Chair, the General Editor, and the Edition Director.

           Section 1          Selection Procedures and Terms of Service

The Board Chair, Vice Chair, Edition Director, and General Editor shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The Chair and Vice Chair shall be elected by a majority vote of the then current full board, and they shall serve until their successors have been appointed or elected.

The Edition Director is chosen by the full board by a majority vote.

The General Editor shall be selected according to the following procedure. The Board Chair will appoint three members of the board to serve with the Chair as a Selection

Committee.  Board members may make General Editor recommendations to the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee will conduct its deliberations in “executive sessions”; they will not advertise their activities but will deliberate in private and in strict confidence. The Selection Committee will survey among themselves possible candidates for the position of General Editor, and may have conversations with candidates deemed qualified and suitable for the position. The Selection Committee will bring its recommendation to the entire board for review and a majority vote on the recommendation.

There is no limit on the number of years officers may hold office.

The order of seniority among the officers shall be: Chair, Vice Chair, Edition Director, General Editor.

           Section 2          Duties of the Board Chair

The Chair convenes and conducts board meetings and has general oversight of the board. The Chair is the official spokesperson for the board.

The Chair may make necessary decisions should the Edition Director or General Editor be unable to do so.

           Section 3          Duties of the Vice Chair

 The Vice Chair fills the role of Chair when the Chair is not able to participate in a meeting or activity.

The Vice Chair may make necessary decisions should the Chair, Edition Director, and General Editor be unable to do so.

           Section 4          Duties of the Edition Director

 The Edition Director carries out administrative responsibilities, is the principal investigator on grants, and makes and maintains records of board meetings.

The Edition Director is responsible for executing the decisions of the Board in a timely fashion as related to the duties contained in this Section, and any other duties that may pertain to the administrative aspects of the Edition, as determined by actions of the full Board.

The Edition Director will arrange for websites and shall oversee the development and maintenance of websites, including the digital volumes of the edition.

The Edition Director is the point of contact for general inquiries about the work of the edition.

           Section 5          Duties of the General Editor

 The General Editor is in charge of the entire editorial and scholarly operation underlying the publication of the Royce Papers.  The General Editor is responsible for executing the decisions of the Board in a timely fashion as related to the duties contained in this Section, and any other duties that may pertain to the scholarly aspects of the Edition, as determined by actions of the full Board.

The General Editor oversees manuscripts reorganization (including repagination, dating, compositional genealogy, and publication assessment), finalizes tables of contents, and distributes tasks among the editorial and research staff.

The General Editor is ultimately responsible for the final editorial and scholarly product, in terms of overall presentation quality, editorial accuracy, scholarly rigor, and judicious contribution to knowledge.

The General Editor collaborates with the Edition Director in applying for grants, raising funds, and writing reports.  He or she liaises between the editorial and research wings of the operation and establishes editorial policies following discussions with relevant parties.  He or she coordinates work among research scholars involved in writing volume introductions and scholarly annotations; reviews both the perfected transcriptions and the perfected critical editing copies of all texts to ensure adequacy between policy, practice, and contents.

The General Editor is the point of contact for outside textual or volume inquiries. Together with the Edition Director, the General Editor regularly informs the Edition Board about progress and issues, and consults with the Edition Board on strategic matters.

ARTICLE VII              Executive Committee

The Chair, Vice Chair, Edition Director, and General Editor shall constitute an Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee is authorized to make decisions for the board when a full board meeting is not practical. All decisions by the Executive Committee will be reported to the full board which will ratify or overturn these decisions by a majority vote.

ARTICLE VIII       Volume Editors, Introduction Authors, Textual Editor, and Technical Editor

Each volume calls for the exercise of five distinct functions, those of the General Editor, the Volume Editor, the Textual Editor, the Introduction Author, and the Technical Editor.  One person may serve in more than one role, and more than one person may serve in one role. Everyone involved with editing will work closely with the General Editor. Editorial assistants may be hired as funding permits. All collaborators are given due credit in the online publication

           Section 1          Volume Editors

 Volume editors are appointed by the General Editor, with the advice and consent of the edition board. Volume Editors will serve only for the specific volume upon which they are assigned, one at a time.

A volume’s scholarly annotations will be the responsibility of the Volume Editor.

The Volume Editor will provide a scholarly appendix that recounts the history of the writing and publishing of all material included within a volume, including the history of reprinting and new editions. The general format for these appendices will be provided by the General Editor, as adapted to the material of each volume, to insure uniformity in the Edition.

           Section 2         Introduction Authors

 Introduction Authors are appointed by the General Editor, with the advice and consent of the Board.

Introduction Authors will serve only for the specific volume upon which they are assigned, one at a time.

Introduction Authors compose general, scholarly introductions to the volumes and various collections of writings, including a discussion of the reception of the work in its time and its subsequent influence. In cases of previously unpublished material, the Introduction Author will assess the role of the unpublished material in the context of Royce’s overall development.

Introduction Authors will produce their work in accordance with a format provided by the General Editor to insure uniformity in the Edition.

Introduction Authors will deliver their finished work to the General Editor within a time frame set by the General Editor following the completion of textual editing.

           Section 3          Textual Editors and Technical Editors

 A volume’s textual and editorial apparatus will be the responsibility of textual editors assigned to it by the General Editor, with the advice and consent of the edition board. As far as feasible, the same Textual Editor or textual editorial team should work across several volumes to ensure consistency of editorial practice.

The Technical Editor, usually the Technical Editor of the Institute for American Thought, with assistance from the Edition Director and General Editor, will be responsible for the digital aspects of volume production and dissemination.

ARTICLE IX          Conduct of Business

Board meetings will be called at least twice a year or as many times as needed. The convener of Board meetings is the Chair.

Board meetings may take place in person, via a conference telephone call, or any electronic medium. When Royce Society meetings or American Philosophy conventions take place, as many board members as possible should gather at least for informational or informal discussions of Edition business.

Any board member may suggest agenda items. The Chair will set the agenda.

A quorum will consist of half plus one of the current number of board members. A quorum is needed to conduct official business of the board, to approve appointments, and to expend funds.

Any board member may make a motion in a business meeting. Where decisions of the Board have important consequences, Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition procedures for small boards, shall be followed. In all cases, significant motions require a second and a majority vote to be approved, unless the item to be voted upon is eminently clear and a vote is taken without a motion.

Decisions on what grants to seek and how funds are to be disbursed shall be by majority vote.

ARTICLE X           Holding and Disbursing Funds

The Edition Director is responsible for managing any funds held by the Edition.

ARTICLE XI          Amending the Bylaws

Amendments to the Edition’s Bylaws may be proposed by any board member. Amendments must be provided to board members at least two weeks prior to a board meeting. Amendments shall be adopted by a majority vote at a business meeting, unless a mail or e-mail ballot is requested.

 

Board Approval: 10 January 2014
Board Approval: 24 April 2020
Board Approval: 1 December 2023