When a university acquires the library of a national institute and the institute's active and worldwide membership expects continued and uninterrupted access to services from the collection, shockwaves can reverberate throughout the university's main library and among its staff. This was especially true for the Reference Department of the University of Mississippi's J. D. Williams Library, which acquired the library collection of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in 2001. This article addresses the various challenges, problems, successes, and other situations experienced in offering reference service to unique users who are never present. (Contains 5 notes.)