Events leading up to and subsequent to the promulgation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in the United States have captured the headlines worldwide, providing a rich case study of the power and indeed weaponisation of records in an information environment characterised by mis- and dis-information. This call for papers is not concerned with the subject matter of the Epstein Files, the individuals mentioned in them, or the politics surrounding the case, but is instead very specifically focused on the recordkeeping dimensions of this case.
We therefore invite research papers addressing topics ranging from the evaluation of the Files from records-making and -keeping perspectives, to critical analyses of the value assigned to records by the public, and consequences for recordkeeping cultures, society, and the future of the archival profession.
List of Topic Areas
Potential topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Perceptions of the value of records and recordkeeping
- Insight into recordkeeping cultures
- Consequences for the creation and capture of records
- Evaluation of the functionality of management systems from the perspective of international standards for recordkeeping
- Forensic analysis of metadata to assess authenticity, reliability, integrity and useability of records
- Power of records in the “post-truth era”
- Personal vs. Institutional recordkeeping
- Role of records managers and archivists in this case and/or similar cases having records as a key component
- Reflections on privacy and the public’s right to know
Papers concerned with the subject matter of the files, the individuals mentioned in them, or the politics surrounding the case are explicitly excluded.
Submission Information
Submissions of full manuscripts are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here:
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see:
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Journal Information: Scopus Journal Q2, H-Index 30
Key Dates
Opening date for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026
Closing date for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2026
For more details refer here
