author
William Frederick Poole
1821–1894
Best known for creating a landmark index to periodical literature, this pioneering American librarian helped shape how readers and researchers found information in the 19th century. His career combined scholarship, practical library work, and a lasting influence on public institutions.
2 Audiobooks
Anti-Slavery Opinions before the Year 1800 Read before the Cincinnati Literary Club, November 16, 1872
by William Frederick Poole, George Buchanan
The Popham Colony : a discussion of its historical claims, with a bibliography of the subject
by William Frederick Poole, Edward Ballard, Frederic Kidder
About the author
Born in Massachusetts in 1821, William Frederick Poole became one of the most important American librarians and bibliographers of his era. While studying at Yale, he developed the indexing work that grew into Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature, a reference tool that became widely respected for helping readers locate articles across many journals.
Poole went on to lead several major libraries, including the Boston Athenaeum, the public libraries of Cincinnati and Chicago, and later the Newberry Library. He was known not only for bibliography but also for library administration, helping build collections and systems that served a growing reading public.
He also wrote on history, and his reputation extended beyond librarianship into broader scholarly life. He died in 1894, but his work stands as an early foundation for the organized discovery of information long before the digital age.