Online: Black Vault publishes Blue Book files
On January 10, 2015, John Greenewald Jr. uploaded Project Blue Book files to The Black Vault, converting them into downloadable PDFs with help from a contributor. The digitization had sequencing errors in multi-page documents.
Background
Event
On January 10, 2015, John Greenewald Jr., founder of The Black Vault, put the Project Blue Book files online. They comprise thousands of cases of unidentified flying objects investigated by the US Air Force from 1952 to 1969. A helper from the Above Top Secret forum had been working on the files since 2012, converting them into usable PDFs.
Technical Problems
The conversion from JPG formats produced errors: in documents with many pages the order was jumbled, which made them harder to use (per Sparks, pp. 8–9).
Significance
The release made sensitive government records publicly accessible and greatly increased traffic to the site. It promotes transparency in ufology and serves researchers as a central resource.