The Earl Lincoln Poole papers house records created by Poole in the study of ornithology and related disciplines, and his illustrations for Academy collaborations. The collection dates from 1915 to 1972 and contains paintings, illustrations, printing blocks, rough drafts, notes, maps, field notes, correspondence, index cards, photographs, slides, newspaper clippings, and ephemera. These materials document Poole's work as an illustrator for Academy ornithologists, his efforts to document the bird life of Pennsylvania, and his involvement with local conservation efforts. This collection would therefore be quite valuable to researchers interested in local ornithology or Poole's artwork.

The collection is arranged into three series: Series "I. Artwork and illustrations, undated," Series "II. Pennsylvania Birds, 1951-1971," and Series "III. Notes and reference, 1915-1972."

Series "I. Artwork and illustrations" is mostly undated, with some materials dated circa 1932. This series contains Poole's illustrations and printing blocks for James Bond's Birds of the West Indies, illustrations for Rudolphe Meyer de Schauensee's Birds of Colombia, and illustrations for some of Poole's articles in early Frontiers issues. Most of these illustrations are oversized. There are also three framed paintings by Poole, which can be found housed with the art racks.

Series "II. Pennsylvania Birds" dates from 1951 to 1971 and contains Poole's drafts for this compendium. The manuscript was never published in its entirety, but a much abridged version was published in 1964 by the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club. A draft of this published version can be found in the last two folders of this series: "Pennsylvania Birds, short version copy" and "Distributional maps: Warblers." The longer version is documented in the rest of the series, with four main versions being present. These drafts have been retained in the order they were found, so as to preserve the preestablished order of the mostly undated materials. The drafts are titled with slight differences, such as "Birds of Pennsylvania," "Pennsylvania Birds," and Bird-life in Pennsylvania," but they are all clearly related to the same work. The last draft is by far the largest, as it comprised five large binders. The binders have been discarded for the sake of space. Researchers should note that notes found in Series III. may be related to this manuscript.

Series "III. Notes and reference" dates from 1915 to 1972 and contains five main components. The first is Poole's journal from his 1915 expedition to Guatemala with Samuel Nicholson Rhoads. Next, Poole's journal is included which documents bird-sightings, weather, habitats, and other animals seen. This journal ranges from 1922 until his death in 1972, and is filled with illustrations as well as notes. Next is a series of notes described as "late notes," which describe various bird species. These notes appear to be related to Pennsylvania Birds, and have been kept in their original order. Following these materials are some subject files on allegheny woodrats, heath hens, and wolves. These folders document Poole's research into these subjects, possibly for articles which he wrote on the subjects. After these notes, the final section of this series is comprised of an alphabetical assortment of materials related to Poole's work. These files include correspondence, which focuses mainly on bird sightings, a list of Dr. Mengel's birds by Poole, a copy of James Bond's Field guide of birds of the West Indies, a copy of Roger Tory Peterson's Field guide to the birds, an index card subject catalogue, an index card bibliography, newspaper clippings, photographs, slides, ephemera, reprints, and notes. Researchers should note that the correspondence and index cards are most likely related to Pennsylvania Birds.