THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REQUEST WAS PROMPTED BY THE DESIRE TO REDUCE THE TOTAL FLOOR SPACE DEVOTED TO FILE STORAGE, AS WELL AS THE TOTAL FLOOR WEIGHT OF THE FILES, TO CUT DOWN ON LOST, MISFILED, AND TEMPORARILY OUT OF FILE RECORDS, AND TO REDUCE THE TOTAL COST (ESPECIALLY LABOR) OF FILE MAINTENANCE. TWO AVAILABLE MEDIA WERE CONSIDERED FOR REPLACING THE EXISTING PAPER FILES: MAGNETIC TAPE AND MICROFILM (STRIP MICROFILM, STRIP MICROFILM STORED IN FICHE-LIKE JACKETS, AND MICROFICHE). STUDY FINDINGS WERE THAT EITHER 16MM OR 35MM MICROFILM WOULD BE APPROPRIATE MEDIUM FOR THE FILES, AND THAT SELECTION BETWEEN POSITIVE (BLACK ON WHITE) AND NEGATIVE (WHITE ON BLACK) PROJECT WOULD WORK. MINIMUM EQUIPMENT NEEDS ARE ALSO OUTLINED. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE IDENTIFICATION BUREAU MAKE AN IMMEDIATE COMMITMENT TO MICROFILM FOR THE MASTER FINGERPRINT FILE AND JACKET FILE ON A SCHEDULE DIRECTED TOWARD OPERATIONAL USE OF SUCH MICROFILM IN ONE YEAR. AN TWELVE-MONTH IMPLEMENTATION ACTION PLAN IS OUTLINED.