Oct 10, 2004 2 min read

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University will soon become home to 100 years of crime-solving history when it assumes the library holdings of one of the world’s largest and oldest forensic science organizations. The International Association for Identification (IAI) chose WVU to house its volumes on the strength of its popular forensic and investigative sciences program. This is the first time the IAI has loaned its holdings to any outside organization, said Clifton Bishop, director of the WVU program.

WVU will house the IAI collection for 10 years, Bishop said. The collection is currently being inventoried at an IAI division facility in Minnesota, and should be shipped sometime in November.

Four hundred students are currently enrolled in WVU forensic classes, and they’re learning the same skills employed by IAI’s more than 5,000 members across the United States and 15 countries. IAI’s members work in all facets of forensic investigation, from gathering evidence at a crime scene, to piecing telltale clues together in the lab.

Along with the forensic program, there’s also the more research-oriented WVU Forensic Science Initiative – a group headed by former FBI investigator Max Houck and created by monies secured by U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.).

The Initiative will also fund the cataloging and processing of the IAI library that will soon take up residence at WVU. WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is the home of the forensic program, and the Initiative is housed in the WVU Research Corp.

Among the cornerstones of the collection are early texts and journal entries charting the practice of using fingerprints as a means of crime solving, a technique that American law enforcement began using 100 years ago.