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William Frederick Poole (24 December 1821 - 1 March 1894) was an American bibliographer and librarian born in Salem, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University in 1849, where he assisted John Edmands, who was a student at the Brothers in Unity Library. 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. The name of his contemporary, Melville Dewey, is attached to the idea of standardizing classification. For a period Poole was president of the American Historical Association. His interest in American history led him to write books, including;

• Cotton Mather and Salem Witchcraft (1869)
• Anti-slavery Before 1800 (1887)
• Columbus and the Founding of the New World (1892)

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