J. Howard Pringle, associate library director of the Waukesha (Wis.) Public Library, recently received an honor that very few other people in Waukesha's 170+ year history could claim - the Key to the City. In a special ceremony that was a surprise to him, and that the library staff and city leadership were in on, the mayor presented him with the second key ever given on behalf of the city by her administration. The presentation of the key recognized his exceptional service to the city and contributions to the technical development of the library and city of Waukesha.

Pringle’s adventure in librarianship began 40 years ago. On June 13, 1966, while in high school, he started out shelving books and putting jackets on new books at the Waukesha Public Library. Though he’s moved on to work part time and full time in almost every position available – from shelver to acting director – he’s continued to serve Waukesha Public Library these 40 years.

“When people ask me why I’ve stayed here so long, I usually say that it is lack of ambition,” jokes Pringle. “However, I genuinely like what I’m doing and have been lucky enough to work with and for some fantastic and very supportive people here.”

After getting his feet wet with circulation, he went on to work in reference and interlibrary loan and government documents.

“Having gained a good foothold in (now ancient) library technology in the early 80s, I was appointed Waukesha Public Library’s automation person just in time to write our needs analysis and RFP for our first automated system. I’ve been a dedicated tech person ever since,” said Pringle.

In his current role, he is responsible for managing all technologies at the library – from networks to public and staff computing, office automation, phones, and everything else in between. He also has oversight of three departments – Circulation, Technical Services, and Building Services and Operations – and is part of the three-member senior management team with the library director and associate director of public services. In addition, he spends almost one third of his time as the administrator of CAFÉ, the organization the library created to provide automated services to 14 libraries in Waukesha County.

Throughout his career at Waukesha Public Library, Pringle has led the way in adopting and implementing many new technologies to improve library services. One of the projects that most stands out in his mind is the library’s first automation project, which was recognized with a national award from Hewlett-Packard as the most cost-effective long-term application for state and local governments nationwide.

Under Pringle’s guidance, the library has also done a remarkable job of supporting the city’s acquisition of new technology. In fact, Waukesha Public Library brought the entire city government into the Internet era after being the first city agency to install dedicated Internet access. And until just recently, the library still managed Internet access and firewall services for the whole city.

More recently, another huge accomplishment is the successful, ground-up creation of the CAFÉ library automation cooperative. Waukesha Public Library retains ownership of the central site hardware and software and provides SirsiDynix automated services to 14 libraries that came from four different ILSs (integrated library systems) in Waukesha County.

“Until now, no one had been successful with shared automation in Waukesha County, but with the aid and impetus of municipal executives in our area and financial support from our county library system, Waukesha Public Library took a chance and made the project go. This project has realized significant cost savings for all the libraries and municipalities involved and has greatly enhanced library service in our area,” said Pringle.

The community of Waukesha can look forward to other exciting technological developments arising from the library’s cooperation with the city, as they’ll soon begin working together on a new citywide Wi-Fi project.

Congratulations, Howard Pringle, on the many ways in which you’ve improved the lives of people in Waukesha through your faithful service to the library!