How to Join the RGME: Guide for Newcomers

October 1, 2026 in Announcements, Events, Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evience, Manuscript Studies, Research Group Speaks (The Series), Research Group Workshops, RGME Annual Appeal, RGME Friends' Meetings, RGME Library & Archives, Theme of the Year, Workshops on "The Evidence of Manuscripts"

Interested in the RGME?

Wondering how to join our group?

We offer a guide
for people interested in our group but uncertain about how it works.

[Posted on 10 August 2026, in response to requests]

Would you like to participate in the RGME and our activities, but you’re not sure how to join?

Logo of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence (colour version)

As a nonprofit educational corporation, we do not have Members as such, with annual dues and membership obligations.

Instead, we gladly gather Officers, Associates, and Volunteers. They are listed on our website:

We also have Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence.

The RGME has no employees as such. Sometimes, when funds permit, we engage contractors or vendors.

Logo (2024) of the Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

People

Anyone can volunteer.

Our nonprofit corporation, incorporated in the State of New Jersey on 4 November 1999, has a Board of Trustees.

1. Trustees and Officers

Officers for our corporation are elected by the Board of Trustees. Among them are the Trustees, the Secretary and Treasurer for the Corporation, the Editor-in-Chief of Publications, and other responsible functionaries.

2. Honorary Invited Associates (“Associates”)

From our beginnings in 1989 as part of a major research project in the University of Cambridge, when we established the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence as an international scholarly society, and reinforced our stature as a nonprofit educational corporation based in the State of New Jersey, we have held the tradition of inviting selected volunteers who have been involved in activities of the RGME to become our Honorary Invited Associates.

For this honorary position there are no dues nor duties; it is our traditional way of expressing formal thanks to people who have contributed to our work and mission in a variety of ways.

3. Volunteers

Volunteers join activities, background organizational work, and celebrations. Some Volunteers, over time, become Honorary Invited Associates.

4. Friends of the RGME

We also welcome all members of our community to join the Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence.

For this position there are no dues nor duties, but, as always, we welcome donations of funds and contributions in kind (materials, time, expertise).

5. Donors and Sponsors

Donations in funds and in kind, including materials, books or manuscripts, and pro-bono contributions, are welcome. Sponsors include individuals, organizations, and institutions.

How You Can Participate

There are many ways to participate, whether by attending or contributing to our activities:

  • helping to organize the event, its production, and its follow-up
  • speaking, offering a response, moderating, or talking as panelist for a roundtable
  • joining the conversation in the discussion or roundtable
  • joining one of our Committees to participate in the planning and running of aspects of our work
  • giving time, expertise, materials, and/or funding for our work and our mission, including our RGME Office, our RGME Production Team, and our RGME Library & Archives

The RGME runs a variety of events and social get-togethers throughout the year. We also engage in research projects, training seminars or masterclasses, and publications of various kinds, often by request.

Lisbon, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga: The mid 15th-century Saint Vincent Panels, attributed to Nuno Gonçalves. Image (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Nuno_Gon%C3%A7alves._Paineis_de_S%C3%A3o_Vicente_de_Fora.jpg) via Creative Commons.

Our activities, projects, and publications include:

  • “The Research Group Speaks” series of stand-alone episodes featuring interviews, roundtables, and individual presentations. Suggestions for future episodes are always welcome! For a list of  Episodes, see https://manuscriptevidence.org/wpme/the-research-group-speaks-the-series/
  • Symposia and, where appropriate, Colloquia. Sometimes the Symposia occur annually or, as in the past several years, run as a joint pair of symposiums in the Spring and Autumn. Colloquia stand alongside symposia in some years, as we focus upon a particular theme or place. Several of these types of events are also hybrid, taking place jointly online as well as at a participating university. For example, see 2025 RGME Spring and Autumn Symposia
  • Visits to collections, both private and institutional. In the past year, we have visited collections in New Jersey (the Steven Lamazow Collection and Special Collections of Princeton University) and New York (The Grolier Club of the City of New York and Special Collections and the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College).
  • Sponsored and co-sponsored Conference sessions: the RGME issues Calls for Papers (CFPs) for IMC Leeds (July) and ICMS Kalamazoo (May) each year.

Poster 3 for 2025 Autumn Colloquium. Workshops on “Fragments at Princeton”

  • The Annual Open Business Meeting, taking place during the ICMS at Kalamazoo
  • RGME Workshops on the “Evidence of Manuscripts, etc” is a new series of interconnected online gatherings to focus on a single artifact in order to observe, analyse, and discuss with a like-minded community its various features and historical context(s). Past workshops themes can be browsed at https://manuscriptevidence.org/wpme/rgme-workshops-on-the-evidence-of-manuscripts-etc/
  • Meetings of the Friends of the RGME. We meet informally online for monthly meetings to talk about subjects of interest, including books and related materials, ranging from childrens’ books and recipe books to celebrations of many kinds. See: https://manuscriptevidence.org/wpme/meetings-of-the-friends-of-the-research-group-on-manscript-evidence/
  • RGME Friends’ Favorite Recipes Cookbook. The Friends have prepare a community cookbook of Favorite Recipes. Competitions for recipes on selected courses or themes (such as Salads, Cookies and Cakes, or Starters) have gathered entries, with award certificates and prizes.
  • Publications often result from our events, as with their papers, abstracts, or reports. They include both traditional (printed) and digital publications, from books and booklets to posters and invitations.
  • Our Website. All our public events are reported on our official website, which comprises our principal publication with outreach to our community worldwide.
    https://manuscriptevidence.org/wpme/

© MSK Ghent. Museum of Fine Arts Ghent. Cornelius Albertus Gijsbrects. Trompe-l’œil: Letter Rack with an Hourglass, Razor and Scissors, circa 1664. Image via https://www.mskgent.be/en/collection/1911-hj.

  • Our Style Manifesto. All our Publications conform with our RGME Style Manifesto
  • Our Official, bespoke, Multi-Lingual Digital Font Bembino. Our Publications use our very own font Bembino, which is freely available for all to use
  • Our Eventbrite Registration Portal. Our activities are often listed in the RGME Eventbrite Collection, where you can register to attend in person or online (as suitable) and you can add a voluntary donation. Most of our events are free-of-charge, and your donations are most welcome to help sustain our work and mission.
    https://www.eventbrite.com/o/research-group-on-manuscript-evidence-54727558903

Join Us!

To join our group and activities, please get in touch with us by contacting

Donations Please, with Our Thanks

To keep our organization running, we count on volunteers, pro-bono contributions, and donations in funds. We ask you to give what you can. Visit:

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