Carl B. Roden

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

Career 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.

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.

Responding to findings in the study by faculty at University of Chicago Graduate Library School published as The Metropolitan Library in Action (1940) Roden hired Lowell A. Martin as his executive assistant to implement suggested changes.

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. Roden was president of the American Library Association from 1927 to 1928.

He was a member of the Caxton Club of Chicago.

Death Carl Bismark Roden died in 1956.