In a card reader for reading information from a card which may contain the information as optical, magnetic, electronic or physical data, inside a casing is provided a carriage which carries the card and is adapted to be conveyed from an outer position to an inner position by a linear drive mechanism. By not using a pair of drive and pinch rollers as opposed to conventional card readers, the card is free from contamination by the rollers, and the operation reliability of the card reader is improved. Further, the elimination of rollers also contributes to the reduction in the overall height of the card reader. The clamp mechanism for securing a card to the carriage may be provided with interlocking means which prevents the movement of the carriage until a card is securely gripped by the clamp mechanism.