Until now, access to Air Force UFO files has been limited to those researchers who could afford to buy the expensive collection of National Archives microfilms or who could afford to conduct their research at distant government archive locations. Thanks to the efforts of the Blue Book Archive, however, the approximately 100,000 pages of Air Force UFO files will now be available to researchers free of charge via the Internet. Interested researchers may review these documents by visiting the project's web-site at http://www.bluebookarchive.org

In addition to providing an easy-to-use interface specifically designed for browsing through film rolls well over 1000 pages in length, the archive is also searchable within the limits of current "optical character recognition" technology. The ability to quickly search through thousands of microfilm documents can often greatly reduce the need to undertake the tedious and error prone task of manually scanning through hundreds or even thousands of images. Moreover, unlike film, the Archive's digital image scans can be enhanced with software to increase document legibility and are easy to print and easy to share via email with other researchers.

At present the Blue Book Archive contains over 10,000 pages comprising approximately 10% of the National Archive's 94 rolls of Blue Book microfilm. Additional rolls are currently in processing thanks to the efforts of project collaborators in Italy and the U.S. In time, the archive hopes to include extant portions of the Project Sign microfilm series as well as the recently discovered un-redacted Maxwell AFB Blue Book microfilm collection.

It is hoped that by modernizing access to these microfilm documents a new generation of researchers and academics, weaned on the Internet and related search technologies like Google, will be encouraged to make the foray into serious UFO research.

To support its efforts, the Blue Book Archive accepts donations through their web-site and through the sale of microfilm scans on CD-ROM. Unfortunately, donations made in support of the Archive are not tax-deductible. To find out more about the Blue Book Archive visit the project's web-site and navigate to the "About" section. There you can learn more about the how to use the archive, how it works behind the scenes, and, most important of all, how you can help.