The largest and most prestigious accounting library collection in the world - that of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) - has arrived at the University of Mississippi (UM) to be housed permanently in the John Davis Williams Library.

Last week, officials from the New York-based organization presented the collection of 125,000 items to University officials on the Oxford campus. Participating were Jay Rothberg, AICPA Vice President - Office of the CEO, and Dr. Gary J. Previts of Case Western Reserve University, a member of the AICPA Foundation Board of Trustees.

"The University of Mississippi is one of the nation's most well-respected names in accountancy education," said Rothberg. "We at the AICPA are pleased that our collection will reside with an institution that has contributed so much to excellence in the profession."

Upon accepting the collection, including a mathematics book (Pacioli's famous Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita) printed in Venice in 1494, Chancellor Robert Khayat, expressed the University's gratitude, calling it a scholarly treasure.

Rothberg said the Institute chose the University of Mississippi because of its strong technological and archival capabilities. He cited the University's renowned repository of papers belonging to William Faulkner, the American novelist and Nobel laureate.

The AICPA will retain copies of all its own publications, including The Journal of Accountancy, The CPA Letter, and various newsletters and technical guides.

Located next to the E.H. "Pat" Patterson School of Accountancy, the library already houses the National Tax History Research Center, a priceless collection of 7,000 rare tax reference books, which in recent years has attracted scholars from 11 foreign countries to the Oxford campus to attend three international accounting research conferences and conduct research. The university is also home to the National Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Auditing Archival Center; and the McMickle Accounting History Library, believed to be the world's largest collection of 19th century accounting books.

The University of Mississippi will now provide all reference assistance and document delivery for the AICPA's members and staff. Library personnel may be reached via the following: telephone: (866) 806-2133; fax: (662) 915-7477; e-mail: aicpalib@olemissl.edu; or mail: AICPA, J.D. Williams Library, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677