Trends in UFO-Related Archival Collections.

Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have long held the public's attention, most research has been conducted by federal agencies who have typically restricted access to such research by classifying or denying the research altogether.1 As a result, countless researchers have taken it upon themselves to investigate the phenomenon over the decades with some of this research making its way into publicly accessible archives. This study provides a history of UFO-related research and archival collections, through an examination of trends gleaned via an inventory of publicly accessible physical collections. The study found that within North America there are sixty-two unique, non-federal collections spread across universities, museums, public libraries, and historical societies. Twenty-two of these collections exclusively contain UFO research content. Collections were created by those who thought UFOs were misidentified objects (the original federal conclusion) and those who believed that there was more to the phenomenon. UFO archival collections started to catch on in the 1970s and are amongst the most popular at their institutions today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]