Carl B. Roden Explained

Carl B. Roden
Office:	President of the American Library Association
Term Start:	1927
Term End:	1928
Predecessor:	George H. Locke
Successor:	Linda A. Eastman
Birth Name:	Carl Bismarck Roden
Birth Date:	7 June 1871
Birth Place:	Kansas City, Missouri, US
Death Place:	Palatine, Illinois, US
Occupation:	Librarian

Carl Bismarck Roden (June 7, 1871  - October 25, 1956)^[1] was an American librarian and served as chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1918 to 1950.^[2] A lifelong resident of Norwood Park, Illinois, he began work as a library page in 1886.^{[3] [4]}

Under his leadership, the Chicago Public Library system doubled its reach in the community and tripled the number of books it offered. Circulation from branch libraries doubled and the community support for the Public Libraries increased four-fold.^[5] During his tenure, Chicago Public Library's Board of Directors authorized the first intellectual freedom policy in an American public Library. The April 1936 action responded to challenges from community members of Russian and Polish descent regarding the collections provided by the Chicago Public Library's Foreign Language Department.^[6]

Roden was a participant in the Bibliographical Society of Chicago, forerunner of the Bibliographical Society of America, for which he served as president from 1914-1916.^{[7] [8]}

Roden was president of the American Library Association from 1927 to 1928.^{[9] [10]}

He was a member of the Caxton Club of Chicago.

Carl Bismark Roden died in 1956.

Bibliography

• Roden, C. B. (1951). Public library in the United States. Library Quarterly, 21, 129–133.
• “Standards for the Public Library Book Collection,” in The Library of Tomorrow: A Symposium, ed. Emily M. Danton (Chicago: American Library Association, 1939), 94.
• “The Library as a Censor of Books,” in Proceedings of the Illinois Library Association, October 19–21 (Springfield: Illinois Library Association, 1922), 167.
• Library for the People Episode 3: Of Book Bans and Book Sanctuaries. Chicago Public Library.

See also

• Chicago Public Library
• intellectual freedom

Notes and References

1. https://books.google.com/books?id=lvxBIOKVsQUC&dq=carl+roden+%281870+OR+1871%29&pg=PA405 The American Public Library Handbook
2. “Obituary.” 1958. Libri: International Journal of Libraries & Information Services 7 (4): 325–26.
3. Web site: About the Roden Branch. Chicago Public Library. 8 February 2016.
4. News: Former Chicago Librarian Dies. Mt. Vernon Register-News. Newspapers.com. October 26, 1956. Mt. Vernon, IL. 11.
5. Web site: CPL History. Chicago Public Library. 8 February 2016.
6. Latham . Joyce M. . Wheat and Chaff: Carl Roden, Abe Korman, and the Definitions of Intellectual Freedom in the Chicago Public Library . Libraries & the Cultural Record . 2009 . 44 . 3 . 279–298 . 10.1353/lac.0.0083 . 25549555 . 142600502 . March 12, 2022.
7. Van Hoesen, Henry B. (1941). "The Bibliographical Society of America—Its Leaders and Activities, 1904–1939". Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. 35 (3): 177–202.
8. Wiegand, Wayne A. “Library Politics and the Organization of the Bibliographical Society of America.” The Journal of Library History 21, no. 1 (1986): 131–57.
9. Roden, Carl Bismarck. 1928. “The American Library Association.” Bulletin of the American Library Association 22 (January): 44–46.
10. Web site: ALA's Past Presidents. American Library Association. 8 February 2016.