Boxes of evidence the state of Texas prepared for a trial against the tobacco companies occupy a gym in Texarkana, Texas, in August 1997.

In settling lawsuits against them, companies often insist that all of the documents and depositions gathered as part of the cases be locked away or destroyed. To head that off — and to ensure a full accounting of the origins of the prescription opioid crisis — a group of historians is asking that any settlement in the massive opioid litigation require all collected documents be preserved and made public.

In a court brief Thursday, the experts called for “full and permanent access to the records” for scholars, policymakers, journalists, and the public, and for the defendants to cover the costs of creating an archive.