Whether you have always been curious or experienced something yourself, July 2, World UFO Day is the time to find out more about the alleged existence of unidentified flying objects and beings from outer space.  While Special Collections may not have the answers on the existence of aliens (that we know of anyway) we do have manuscript and book collections that might provide more information about the study of this phenomena. 

Our most used collection related to the study of UFOs is the James E. McDonald papers (MS 412).  James McDonald was a professor at the UA in atmospheric physics and directed the UA’s Institute of Atmospheric Physics from 1954 to 1956.  He was born in Minnesota in 1920, educated at MIT and earned a PhD at University of Omaha.  He was an internationally known and respected scientist known for his work in cloud physics and climate modification. 

In the 1960s and early 1970s he tried to bring scientific explanations to the discussion of UFOs.  He started studying sightings and collecting interviews in Tucson.  When he began speaking publicly about his research he believed that his scientific credentials would lend some validity to his investigations.  He believed that the government was not doing enough to investigate reports 

The McDonald papers contains mostly his work on UFO research with a small portion related to his professional career.   Included in his UFO research files are correspondence between McDonald and government and military officials and scientists and politicians about the study of UFOs.  In the audio interviews about UFO witnesses researchers will discover witnesses’ accounts of UFO sightings as well as McDonald’s scientific studies that led to his disenfranchisement from the scientific community.  There is an extensive collection of Project Blue Book reports.  Project Blue Book, a US Air Force program in the 1950s and 1960s, studied UFOs to determine the threat to national security and to scientifically analyze UFO data. McDonald felt that the US Air Force was not seriously investigating the reports and criticized the government for being indifferent and unscientific is its explanations of UFOs. He felt people were being shamed for seeing and reporting something that they could not explain which fueled more skepticism for claims.  McDonald began speaking out and writing scientific papers about UFOs and the need for scientific exploration.  Unfortunately he failed to receive support from the academic community and his career suffered.

Whether you are interested in the Roswell crash or the portrayal of aliens in popular culture, you can also look through dozens of books found in Special Collections, many from McDonald’s library.  You can read government studies like the Condon Report which McDonald found dismissive of people’s UFO claims or for some lighter reading sit down with a science fiction novel.  Maybe Special Collections will have something to interest you and make you look a little closer at the night sky.

-Lisa Duncan