About the Libraries
University of Mississippi Libraries
The University of Mississippi Libraries includes the John Davis Williams Library (191,261 sq ft), the Science Library (10,890 sq ft) which is housed in the Thad Cochran Natural Products Center, and an Annex building (15,200 sq ft), housing the Modern Political Archives and low use materials, which is located across the street from the Science Library. The Williams Library and the Science Library are open to the public while the Annex is closed to the public; materials are retrieved for users. The Williams Library is the general library for the University community, and houses the main collection of books, periodicals, microforms, manuscripts, government publications, audio visual materials, and maps. The libraries have 3,821,704 total volumes, 2,368,693 electronic resources, and 3,257,575 unique titles.
The addition of a Starbucks coffee shop and soft seating to the Williams Library has improved how the users view the Library as a place. Public computers are available in the libraries. In addition, both the Williams Library and the Science Library offer free wireless access. The Libraries are open 80.5 hours/week during the regular semesters. The Libraries also offer in-person, email, chat and virtual reference service.
The Science Library
The Science Library in the Thad Cochran National Center for Natural Products Research Building serves primarily students and faculty in the School of Pharmacy, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Natural Products Center. The Library holds more than 65,000 volumes and includes three group study rooms and 7 computers. One librarian and two full-time staff are available to help users with research, interlibrary loan, and general library questions. Services available include research support, interlibrary loan, circulation, class reserves, and scanning.
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Archives & Special Collections
The Department of Archives & Special Collections in the University of Mississippi Libraries houses archival papers, photographs, films, and sound recordings related to Mississippi, the Blues, the University of Mississippi, and the American South. The four units within the department, General Special Collections, the Blues Archive, the Visual Collections, and the Modern Political Archive, are managed by four curators and a Library Specialist who assist numerous patrons with their research needs. General Special Collections contains more than 63,000 items in the book collections and over 1000 unique manuscript collections. With over 70,000 sound recordings and over 38,000 cataloged items, the Blues Archives houses one of the largest collections of blues recordings, publications and memorabilia in the world. Among its other Mississippi related visual collections, the Southern Media Archive and Visual Collections hold the Martin Dain and J.R. Cofield Collections of William Faulkner photographs, one of the largest collections of William Faulkner photographs in the country. In July 2004, Archives received over 7,000 linear feet of congressional and legal collections. Staff also provide regular presentations about Mississippi’s history and culture for classes and outside groups. Exhibits of interest to students and the general public are regularly presented and the Department maintains a robust digital collection in the Library’s Institutional Repository.
Government Documents
A Federal Depository Library since 1883, the J.D. Williams Library continues to be one of only 46 regional depository libraries in the United States and serves as the Regional Depository Library for Mississippi. The Library holds the largest collection of federal documents in the state with over 3,670,000 federal documents in various formats. As part of the ASERL (Association of Southeast Research Libraries) Collaborative Federal Depository Project, the Library is a Center of Excellence for the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Small Business Administration (SBA). The historical print collections date from the beginning of the 19th century and include many reports of government-sponsored scientific and ethnographic explorations. The maps collection consists of more than 250,000 federal depository maps and charts from government agencies. The Library is also a member of the Mississippi State Depository Program. Although the State Depository Program was not legislated until 1966, the Library’s collection includes significant historical Mississippi documents from the nineteenth century such as Department Reports, the Laws, and Senate and House Journals. The Library provides free public access to the federal and state documents in our collections.
American Institute of Certified Public Accountant (AICPA)
Upon receiving the library collection of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in August 2001, the J.D. Williams Library became “the library of the accounting profession.” Numbering over 129,000 volumes, the collection includes rare incunabula as well as copies of every item cited in the Accountant’s Index since its inception in 1923. Reference staff and graduate assistants offer specialized reference assistance not only to the university community but also to AICPA members. The Libraries have also begun digitizing selected historical documents, including the Accounting Historians Journal and exposure drafts of the AICPA.
