Richard E. Krug served as city librarian of the Milwaukee Public Library from 1941 to 1974. During his long tenure as city librarian he transformed the library system. His accomplishments included construction of a major addition to the central library and a reorganization of the system’s branch libraries. Under his leadership the library began the use of data processing in 1947. As city librarian he strongly defended intellectual freedom. He was instrumental in developing the Charles Allis Art Library. He served as President of the Wisconsin Library Association in 1946-1947. He received WLA’s Special Service Award in 1974. The Krug Rare Book Room in the Central Library of the Milwaukee Public Library is named in honor of Krug and his wife Lucile. Krug received both his bachelor's degree (1927) and his law degree (1929) from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He started as the municipal reference librarian at the Milwaukee Public Library in 1930 and became assistant City librarian in 1939. Krug was inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame on October 25, 2012.

Further reading: Ring, Daniel F. "Richard Krug: The Bookman as a Librarian" Libraries & Culture, vol. 29, no. 3 (1994: 257-272.