By Tim Binnall
The vast and rich history of UFO studies may soon have a physical home in the form of a massive national archive devoted to the mysterious phenomenon. The promising project is the work of a newly formed organization known as the National UFO Historical Record Center. In announcing the endeavor, the group indicated that they plan to "collect, preserve, and provide historical UFO materials to the general public and interested parties" by way of "a singular freestanding facility" which they envision being located in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area.
Researcher David Marler, who serves as executive director of the group, explained to a local TV station that the effort came about by way of the sizeable amount of UFO materials in his home and the realization that, as the expression goes, he was 'not alone.' "I’m surrounded by a number of colleagues across the country who they themselves have amassed a large collection of historical data in archives," he observed, "and they’re getting to a point in age where they need to figure out what’s going to happen to that material." In response, the National UFO Historical Record Center was created to "gather and centralize this historical UFO data" to eventually be housed at one primary location.
As any longtime student of the UFO subject can attest, the sheer array of material devoted to the phenomenon is mountainous and comes in a variety of forms, from books and magazines articles to official government files and collections of reports from civilian research groups as well as all manner of artifacts, photos, and other documentation. To that end, finding a building big enough to serve as the archive will be no small feat as Marler believes that they will need a staggering 10,000 square feet of space for the project. With that in mind, the group hopes to either raise funds to procure such a site or work with someone willing to donate a suitable location for the ambitious endeavor.
Although collecting, storing, and showcasing the voluminous amount of material devoted to the subject will undoubtedly be a Herculean task, Marler mused to the Roswell Daily Record that, if it can be accomplished, the archive could ultimately change our understanding fo the phenomenon. "What if we could be able to cross-reference all this data to look for patterns, to gain insights, to add to the already growing amount of information and knowledge we have," he postulated to the newspaper, "imagine the case files and reports that have never been seen. The audio tapes that have never been heard. The potential discoveries that could lead to answers, potentially, to this mystery."