James Edward Traue (born 10 February 1932) is a New Zealand librarian. He was chief librarian of the

Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

from 1973 to 1990.

Early life and family

Traue was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

on 10 February 1932, the son of Albert Edward Traue and Evelin Florence Traue (née Webb). He was educated at Rotorua District High School and Hamilton High School, and went on to study at

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

with second-class honours in 1957. He also earned a Diploma of the New Zealand Library School. In 1973, Traue married Julia Margaret Bergen.

Career

Traue worked as a librarian with the New Zealand National Library Service from 1957 to 1961, and then the General Assembly Library from 1962 to 1971. He spent 1965–1966 working at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and was chief librarian of the New Zealand

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industria ...

between 1971 and 1973. Traue served as chief librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington from 1973 and 1990. In 1961, Traue was a member of the National Committee for the Abolition of the Death Penalty. He was editor of the 11th edition of ''

Who's Who in New Zealand The ''Who's Who in New Zealand'', originally called the ''Who's Who in New Zealand and the Western Pacific'', is a collection of biographies that was first published in 1908, and the latest version is from 1991. History The first edition was edi ...

'' in 1978. He has written extensively on the history and purpose of research libraries and the nature of research.

Honours

In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Traue was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to the library profession.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traue, Jim 1932 births Living people People from Auckland People educated at Rotorua Boys' High School People educated at Hamilton Boys' High School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand librarians Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit