The Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL) is an initiative led by the University of Arizona in collaboration with CRL and other interested agencies to identify, digitize, archive, and provide access to federal technical reports issued prior to 1975. The TRAIL project began under the auspices of the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA).  All GWLA members provided support in the early years of the TRAIL project.

Technical reports communicate research progress in technology and science; they deliver information for technical development to industry and research institutions contributing to the continued growth of science and technology. These highly detailed reports contain valuable information serving specialized audiences of researchers. While availability to more recent (1994–current) technical report literature has greatly improved with Internet access, legacy technical report documents remain elusive to researchers. Most large research libraries across the country have sizeable collections of federally funded technical research reports—frequently a million or more ranging from several pages to several hundred pages.

An example of some report series digitized include:

• U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Civil Effects Test Operations (AEC-CEX)
• U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Lovelace Foundation for Medical Education and Research (AEC-LF)
• U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Health and Safety Laboratory (AEC-HASL)
• U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Radiation Instruments Branch (AEC-RIB)
• U.S. National Bureau of Standards, Monographs
• U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin

The TRAIL Interface is available at www.technicalreports.org