Subgroup 01: William F. Poole papers, 1858-1894, bulk: 1887-1894
Scope and Contents
Includes primarily Poole's incoming and outgoing correspondence while Librarian at the Newberry. Also includes some reports, memoranda, booklists, and invoices. Newberry Library administrative correspondence concerns acquisitions, Trustee affairs, personnel matters, library building design, and reference questions. There is also correspondence with prominent librarians and historians, and with publishers regarding Poole's Index.
Dates
- Creation: 1858-1894
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1887-1894
Creator
- Poole, William Frederick, 1821-1894 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The Newberry Library Archives are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Unprocessed records are available by appointment only. Advance notice is necessary, particularly for administrative files, so that files may be screened for personnel records that are removed when records are processed.
Files containing personal or confidential information about individuals (including individual files on members of the Board of Trustees, individual donor files and records reporting the donations of an individual, personnel records, payroll records, and individual accepted fellows files) are closed for 30 years.
Biography of William Frederick Poole
Historian, librarian, and first Librarian of the Newberry Library. Born in Massachusetts in 1821, Poole worked his way through Yale (1842-1849), where he produced the first Poole's Index to Periodical Literature (1848). In an influential career as public library administrator and as founder, promoter, and president of the American Library Association, Poole contributed greatly to the professionalization of librarianship. In 1887, Poole was invited to organize the Newberry Library in Chicago. As its first Librarian, Poole oversaw book selection and the planning and construction of the Newberry Library building. Poole was also an American historian and president of the American Historical Association.
Extent
12.5 Linear Feet (30 boxes)
Arrangement
Organized in five series: Correspondence-Incoming (03/01/01), Correspondence-Outgoing (03/01/02), Book Lists (03/01/03), Administrative (03/01/04), and Ephemera (03/01/05).
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org