SDSS Pre-Burst Observations of Recent Gamma-Ray Burst Fields

In this paper, we present Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry and spectroscopy in the fields of 24 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by Swift, including bursts localized by Swift, HETE-2, and INTEGRAL, after December 2004. After this bulk release, we plan to provide individual releases of similar data shortly after the localization of future bursts falling in the SDSS survey area. These data provide a solid basis for the astrometric and photometric calibration of follow-up afterglow searches and monitoring. Furthermore, the images provided with this release will allow observers to find transient objects up to a magnitude fainter than possible with Digitized Sky Survey image comparisons.