c18 Bibliographies
On-Line:
Guidelines for Contributors
General Editor: Jack
Lynch, Dept. of English, Rutgers University -- Newark, 360 M.
L. King Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102, U.S.A.
(biblio@c18.org)
This series of annotated enumerative bibliographies is intended
to guide scholars to the essential editions, biographies, and
works of criticism on major and minor eighteenth-century figures.
Each bibliography should include all of the following that apply:
- Bibliographies
- Primary Works
- Secondary Works
- Editions
- Collected Works
- Individual Works
- Correspondence
- Archives and Depositories
- Selected Teaching Editions and Anthologies
- Biographies
- Criticism
- Reference Works (author-specific encyclopedias, chronologies,
&c.)
- Journals
- Collections and Festschriften
- Monographs and Articles
- Electronic Resources
Bibliographies
If there are extensive or comprehensive bibliographies of an
author's works, whether descriptive or enumerative, list these
first.
Editions
The goal is a guide to editions currently used, not a
descriptive bibliography of all early editions. Coverage of
primary texts should be complete whenever possible, referring to
modern scholarly editions (when they exist) or to early editions,
but in complicated cases -- such as Defoe, whose canon is large,
doubtful, and unserved by a uniform edition -- they can be more
selective. Begin with uniform scholarly editions, perhaps listing
individual volumes. Editions of individual works that have some
merit lacking in the collected edition can be noted. Annotations
might refer to controversial editorial decisions.
Where there are multiple or competing editions, the most
important (which will usually but not always be the most recent)
should be listed first. Only works of some current interest
should be listed; editions entirely superseded can safely be
omitted, but older editions should be noted when they have some
advantage over more recent ones.
Only the most important or interesting teaching and reading
editions should be mentioned.
Biographies
As with editions, list biographies in order of decreasing
importance, beginning with the standard life and listing any
others of note. There's no need to list standard sources such as
the DNB except when the entry is of particular note.
Criticism
Begin with reference works such as author-specific
encyclopedias or chronologies, then list journals devoted
entirely or mostly to the figure in question, then major
collections, anthologies, and Festschriften.
Individual works of scholarship -- monographs or articles --
can be grouped according to whatever organizing principle the
contributor thinks most useful, although by topic first and by
chronology second seems an obvious default choice.
The degree of coverage will depend on the subject: major
figures such as Voltaire, Johnson, and Goethe will necessarily be
treated much more selectively than Jane Barker or the Baron
d'Holbach. No bibliography is expected to be comprehensive, but
it should indicate the seminal works a newcomer should be
expected to know. In the case of controversial works the
contributor considers of dubious value, err on the side of
inclusion, but indicate reservations in the annotations.
Annotations should be brief, indicating both the works' claim
on a scholar's attention and any serious limitations they may
have. They can afford to be opinionated. Annotations should
usually be in the language of the author under discussion,
although there might be exceptions.
Electronic Resources
This should be a very selective guide, listing only those
electronic resources (on the Web or on CD-ROM) that make a
serious demand on the attention of a scholar.
Presentation
All citations should follow The Chicago Manual of Style,
14th ed. The general editor will be responsible for formatting
and encoding the bibliographies.
Updates
One of the advantages of on-line bibliographies is that they can
be kept current. Contributors can of course supplement or revise
the bibliographies at any time, but they should be examined at
least yearly. The general editor therefore will contact the
contributors once a year, E-mailing the current bibliography and
asking whether any updates are warranted. Such updates should
therefore require minimal effort from the contributors.
Each bibliography will include a "mailto" link, allowing readers
to suggest new items for inclusion. Unless otherwise requested,
such mail will be sent not to the individual contributors but to
the general editor, who will abstract the suggestions and forward
them to the contributors at his discretion.