The Swedish city of Norrköping is home to the world’s largest library with documents on UFOs and all kinds of paranormal phenomena from all parts of the world.
This amazing data archive was founded in 1973 by UFO enthusiasts Håkan Blomkvist, Kjell Jonsson and Anders Liljegren, who called themselves the Ufology Working Group.
The archive is now managed by 65-year-old Claes Swan and 73-year-old Anders Liljegren, who call themselves ‘curious explorers of the unknown’.
The library archive consists mainly of books, newspaper clippings and stories received directly from those to whom they were passed on. It is located underground and takes up a whopping 700 square meters of space.
Officially this library is called “The Archives of the Unexplained” (AFU). The collection includes 55,000 books in different languages, 88,000 magazines, 650,000 newspaper articles, 30,000 photographs, as well as videos, tape recordings, paintings, miscellaneous things and much more.
Since 1986, the archive has been closely associated with the National Ufological Organization of Sweden. It exists solely on the money of philanthropists. There is also a shop at the library where you can buy second-hand books.
“What we are creating here at AFU is a repository of knowledge. We try to find out as much as possible about all kinds of unsolved scientific mysteries that we can find… to make it available to the whole world,” explains Claes Swan, as he shows reporters the 700 square meter library.
Access to the library is strictly limited. Only about 300 people visit it annually and only by appointment. Part of the archive has been digitized and can be consulted at the official office websitebut for this you must first obtain an access code.
Greg Eghigian, professor of history and bioethics at Pennsylvania State University in the US, visited AFU one day to conduct research for his book on the history of UFOs.
“I have worked in numerous archives in Europe, the United States and Great Britain. My time at AFU was without a doubt the most exciting and productive. AFU is without a doubt… the most comprehensive archive of material relating to the global history of the UFO phenomenon in the world. It is impossible to study the subject carefully without becoming familiar with its funds.”
