William Frederick Poole

Librarian and historian, born in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. As a student at Yale (graduated 1849), he maintained and expanded a project indexing useful materials in books and magazines. This index was published in 1848 and was the forerunner to Poole's Index to Periodical Literature. He was librarian of the Boston Athenæum (1856–69) and he then helped to establish the library of the US Naval Academy and the Cincinnati Public Library. In 1874 he became the first librarian of the Chicago Public Library and later helped organize Chicago's Newberry Library (1887), where he remained until his death. He is also known for his contributions to the profession of library administration.

Poole succeeded Edmands' position at the library and in 1848 published his own index called Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, which became popular. Poole was a pioneer in the public library movement. He was the first librarian of the Cincinnati Public Library 1869-1873 and the first librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1873 to 1887. Poole built the initial Chicago collection in part through persuading friends in the in the academic community across the United States to donate volumes. It did not hurt that his appeal suggested many books had perished in the great Chicago fire of 1871, even though the disaster had occurred two years before the city had begun a library. Poole capped his career as librarian of the Newberry Library 1887-1894, a private research institution. Poole designed the building, which still stands at 60 West Walton Street. While he was a moving force in the modern library movement, Poole's ideas ultimately put him on the wrong side of history. Poole believed each collection was unique and that librarians should design a building and catalogue system to fit his collection.