As mentioned earlier, this collection is divided into eight series: Family and Life (Series I), Correspondence (Series II), Politics and Community Involvement (Series III), Taxes and Contracts (Series IV), Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) (Series V), Educational Support, Policy, and Reform (Series VI), Speeches (Series VII), Photographs and Scrapbooks (Series VIII), and Oversize Materials (Series IX). A number of newspapers easily accessible on microfilm have been removed from this collection.

Series I: Family and Life, 1847-2003, documents Joyce's immediate and extended family and those of his activities not related to any of the other series in this collection. It is divided into four parts: personal and biographical, legal career, publications, and awards. Of particular note are the materials relating to the "Bar None" column that Joyce wrote during the later years of his life. "Bar None" dealt primarily with political matters relating to Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge history, and various of Joyce's personal reminiscences. Other points of interest include Joyce's early career in law, Joyce's genealogical research, and the plethora of awards (including a number of humorous items) that Joyce won for his tireless service to the people of Oak Ridge.

Series II: Correspondence, 1941-2000, was organized from Joyce's own correspondence file. It is composed primarily of letters written to Joyce, although the occasional letter or copy thereof from Joyce can also be found. Correspondents include Joyce's family and personal friends as well as such prominent political figures as Ross Bass, Al Gore, Sr., Al Gore, Jr., Estes Kefauver, Howard Baker, Jim Sasser, Frank Wilson, and others.

Series III: Politics and Community Involvement, 1943-2002, shows Joyce's interactions with the Oak Ridge community and both the Oak Ridge and national political structures. It contains information relating to Joyce's involvement with such Oak Ridge political entities as the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce, Joyce's service as Notary Public and County Attorney (during which time he was involved with the desegregation of Clinton High School), his association with various citizen organizations (including Tennessee's Resource Valley, the Roane Anderson Economic Council, the Tennessee Technology Foundation, and Technology 2020), his potential 1972 run for U. S. Congress, and finally the information Joyce collected on various national politicians, several of whose campaigns he managed

Series IV: Taxes and Contracts, 1949-2000, is almost wholly devoted to Joyce's efforts to convince the federal government to either pay property taxes in Oak Ridge or increase their in-lieu-of-tax payments to Oak Ridge. This information is concentrated in Sub-Series A: Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Sub-Series C: Union Carbide Corporation, Sub-Series D: Martin Marietta Corporation, and Sub-Series F: United States Department of Energy (DOE). Researchers should note that the overlap between these four sub-series is considerable, as the AEC was eventually incorporated into the DOE and both the AEC and the DOE contracted their work in Oak Ridge to Union Carbide and Martin Marietta (later Lockheed-Martin Marietta) respectively. Other potential taxes in this series designed to increase Oak Ridge's tax revenue include a refinement tax on enriched uranium (U235) and a tax on coal and oil derived from the Cumberland Mountains. Series IV also overlaps with Series V.

Series V: Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), 1945-2002, covers those aspects of Oak Ridge and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that do not deal specifically with taxes. Topics include the K-25 (including ED-1) and Y-12 sites, the neutron spallation complex, pollution and cleanup of wastes produced by installations on the Oak Ridge Reservation, proposed charges to the DOE and other federal agencies for the long-term storage of radioactive wastes, and a series of documents dealing with Oak Ridge that Joyce created. Researchers should note that there is considerable overlap between this series and Series IV. For example, many of the taxes mentioned in Series IV were to be levied on sites covered in this series, and some combination of the AEC, DOE, Union Carbide, and Martin Marietta operated virtually all of the plants present on the Reservation.

Series VI: Educational Support, Policy, and Reform, 1952-1997, demonstrates Joyce's involvement in the educational sphere. It focuses on primarily on educational institutions in East Tennessee, specifically the University of Tennessee system, Pellissippi State Community College, and Roane State Community College. It also consists of information involving Joyce's commitment to improving education, especially at the state level, for learners of all ages. Series VI is loosely related to Series III: Politics and Community Involvement, as Joyce considered education to be a means of improving Oak Ridge's economic situation, and so many of the political organizations he was involved in were active in educational questions.

Series VII: Speeches, 1865-2000, contains speeches, drafts of speeches, and notes for speeches by Joyce and others. With the exception of Sub-Series 1, Sub-Sub-Series B, speeches, drafts, and notes have been placed in alphabetical order by title. In Sub-Series 1, Sub-Sub-Series B, speeches have been organized alphabetically by the speaker's last name.

Series VIII: Photographs and Scrapbooks, 1946-2000, includes photographs of Joyce, various of his friends and colleagues, and two scrapbooks. Except in the cases of the photo album and the two scrapbooks, the materials have been organized alphabetically according to the people shown.