William Frederick Poole | |
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| President of the American Historical Association | |
| In office 1888 | |
| Preceded by | Justin Winsor |
| Succeeded by | Charles Kendall Adams |
| President of the American Library Association | |
| In office 1885–1887 | |
| Preceded by | Justin Winsor |
| Succeeded by | Charles Ammi Cutter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1821-12-24)December 24, 1821 |
| Died | March 1, 1894(1894-03-01) (aged 72) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Yale University |
| Occupation | |
William Frederick Poole (24 December 1821,Salem, Massachusetts – 1 March 1894) was an Americanbibliographer andlibrarian.
He graduated fromYale University in 1849, where he assistedJohn Edmands, who was a student at theBrothers in Unity Library. Poole succeeded Edmands' position at the library and in 1848, while still a student, published his own 154-page index to periodical literature. A 524-page edition was published in 1853, and a third 1469-page edition in 1882.[1]
He was assistant librarian of theBoston Athenaeum in 1851, and in 1852 became librarian of theBoston Mercantile Library. From 1856 to 1869 he was librarian of the Boston Athenaeum, where he inspired the careers ofCharles Evans,William I. Fletcher, andCaroline Hewins.[2]
Poole was a pioneer in the public library movement. He was the first librarian of theCincinnati Public Library from 1869 to 1873, where he successfully introduced the idea of opening the library on Sundays,[3] and the first librarian of theChicago Public Library from 1873 to 1887.
Poole built the initial Chicago collection in part through persuading friends in the academic community across the United States to donate volumes. It did not hurt that his appeal suggested many books had perished in thegreat 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 theNewberry Library, a private research institution, from 1887 to 1894. Poole designed the building, which still stands at 60 West Walton Street.[4]
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. The name of his contemporary,Melvil Dewey, is attached to the idea of standardizing classification.
Poole served as president of theAmerican Library Association,[5] and also as president of theAmerican Historical Association. He was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1877.[6] The American Library Association included him as one of the men of '76.[7]
Media related toWilliam Frederick Poole at Wikimedia Commons| Non-profit organization positions | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the American Historical Association 1888 | Succeeded by |
| President of the American Library Association 1885–1887 | Succeeded by | |
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