The Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System gives you online access to electronic records that are highly structured, such as in databases. The initial release of AAD contains material from more than 30 archival series of electronic records, which include over 350 data files totaling well over 50 million unique records. The series selected for AAD identify specific persons, geographic areas, organizations, or dates. Some of these series serve as indexes to accessioned archival records in non-electronic formats. The AAD system does not, however, support quantitative or statistical analysis of data.

AAD allows you to search for and retrieve specific records from selected series and data files over the Internet. Using AAD, first select a series of electronic records, then select a specific data file within a series, and search for pertinent records by entering unique values, such as personal names, dates, cities, and states. AAD displays the records that match the search criteria. You may then view the records, print the records, or copy the records to your own computer and save them as an electronic file.

For example, if you are looking for information about someone (U.S. military or civilian), who may have been a prisoner of the Axis Powers during World War II, you now have the ability to search online for his or her record.