Letters sent to William F. Poole, primarily regarding business at the Newberry Library, although some letters predate Poole's Newberry tenure, and a few letters are personal in nature. Newberry-related subjects include reference letters, requests for information; book recommendations; offers of books for sale from private individuals and booksellers; offers of donations of books from societies, organizations, and government entities; letters relating to supplies, furnishings, and other matters regarding the physical library; and building a medical library, involving correspondence with doctors. Non-Newberry-related subjects include American Library Association business; World's Columbian Exposition business; Yale University alumni business, and Northwestern University Trustee business. A few letters are to others, such as trustee E.W. Blatchford, or Newberry staff members C. Alex Nelson and William Stetson Merrill; the ones addressed to staff are mostly from 1894, after Poole had already left the library.