Archives for the unexplained (AFU), formerly known as Archives for UFO research ( sv, Arkivet för UFO-forskning) is a depository dedicated to collecting materials about

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

ufology Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and f ...

, Forteana,

cryptozoology Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...

, paranormal phenomena and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

.
online version
AFU is a nonprofit foundation situated in

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

, Sweden. The collections take up approximately 3.5 kilometers of shelf space in 15 locations. Included are over 55,000 books in various languages, 88,000 magazine issues representing 8,000 annual magazines, 650,000 newspaper clippings, 30,000 photographs, films, tape records,

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

, and more. AFU also possesses

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n and British archives, including over 55,000 reports and collections about organizational and personal files. The archive also collects

scale models Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

, paintings,

paraphernalia Paraphernalia most commonly refers to a group of apparatus, equipment, or furnishing used for a particular activity. For example, an avid sports fan may cover their walls with football and/or basketball paraphernalia. Historical legal term In l ...

, posters, clothes, toys, and other items.

History

Archives for the Unexplained was founded in Södertälje in 1973 by Håkan Blomqvist, Kjell Jonsson, and Anders Liljegren, originally being called the Work Group for Ufology. The purpose was to provide information for UFO researchers and build a specialized research library for UFO literature. In 1980, AFU was converted to a charitable foundation and the archive was moved to its current location in Norrköping. Through a special agreement in 1986, AFU is connected to the national organization UFO-Sweden, and takes the role of managing the organization's archives and libraries. The daily operation is run by a permanent staff and entirely on a voluntary basis by contributions from private sponsors. Chairman is Clas Svahn. In 2013, its name was changed to Archives for the Unexplained.

Collection

AFU stores UFO reports submitted and documented by private and military investigators in Sweden. The archive manages UFO-Sweden's report archive. Material is continuously being added material from the organization's central and field investigators. The report archive includes about 20,000 Swedish observations and copies of all available open UFO investigations since 1946 made by the Swedish Armed Forces (about 2,000 cases, mostly

ghost rockets Ghost rockets ( sv, Spökraketer, also called Scandinavian ghost rockets) were rocket- or missile-shaped unidentified flying objects sighted in 1946, mostly in Sweden and nearby countries like Finland. The first reports of ghost rockets were ma ...

sv, spökraketer). The archive has received donations of comprehensive report archives from Norway, Denmark, and others. Journals from around the world that are within the scope of the archive topics are saved regularly. The archives currently have tens of thousands of booklets. The collection includes all kinds of regularly published writings from religious cults newsletters to comics with scientific ambitions. Most of the journals describe reported UFO cases and debate of UFO topics in different parts of the world. To organize the collection, librarians developed a specialized subject classification scheme for the topic. '' U.S. News & World Report'' described it as "among the most comprehensive digital libraries for UFO sightings and investigations into them by governments worldwide."

References

External links

Archives for the Unexplained
Official website
Archives for the Unexplained
Instagram {{Authority control UFO organizations Archives in Sweden

History

Collection

See also

References

External links