KEY POINTS:
The job of the librarian who cares for Auckland's world-renowned heritage collections has been consigned to history.
The role of heritage manager, held by Theresa Graham, has been abolished in a shake-up of the history floor at the central city library.
Sources say the post of Maori services manager, held by Whina Te Whiu, has also gone.
City librarian Allison Dobbie did not return calls yesterday.
But in a statement, she said the new structure would have a collections content and planning manager, who would oversee the special heritage collections and research centre - now the role of the heritage manager.
Ms Graham could not be reached for comment. Ms Dobbie said there were other jobs she could apply for.
Community services committee chairman Paul Goldsmith said the council was committed to the heritage section and had created a new acquisition fund.
Responding to political pressure to hold rates to inflation, Ms Dobbie has proposed cutting $13.6 million from the $145 million library budget over the next 10 years. Among the proposals are phasing out the mobile library and slowing digitisation of heritage collections to save $1 million.
Ms Graham has worked in the heritage division at Auckland City Library for more than 20 years. She is a member of the Archives Council, which provides advice to the minister responsible for Archives New Zealand. She is also co-founder of the Auckland Heritage Librarians and Archivists Group and a fellow of the Library and Information Association.
Members of the heritage librarians and archivists group said Ms Graham was greatly respected. "It would be disastrous to lose somebody as good as Theresa," one librarian said.
Another librarian said: "Someone with her knowledge and experience would be a big loss to the organisation."
Auckland Library Heritage trustee Colin Davis, whose organisation has raised more than $1 million for the heritage collections, said Ms Graham was extremely knowledgeable, dedicated and brought a passion to the job.
Auckland City Library holds one of the main collections of historic books, manuscripts and other written material in New Zealand.
It includes an important collection of early printed material of Maori and European cultures and the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, worth more than $5 million.
The collection started with a gift in 1887 from the former Governor and Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir George Grey, which included three letters to him from Florence Nightingale.
