Te Papa - the national museum of New Zealand - is considering shutting its printing press for up to five years.

Four jobs could go at the national museum as Te Papa's printing press faces closure.

The press, which in the past financial year produced 12 titles, including the New Zealand Post Book Awards' book of the year, is under the review and could shut for up to five years.

The proposed move is being heavily criticised as short-sighted by leading Kiwi writers.

Te Papa Press is a publishing company that produces books that are sold in the museum, online and in bookstores around the country.

In the past financial year it produced double its annual target of books, with titles including Jill Trevelyan's Peter McLeavey: The Life and Times of a New Zealand Art Dealer which went on to win the coveted book of the year prize.

Te Papa spokeswoman Kate Camp confirmed the museum was considering shutting down the press for four to five years, and would make a decision in early May after staff feedback.

"Te Papa is reviewing its investment in publishing, to focus on core museum work," she said.

"The proposal is to suspend publishing books for the next four to five years. Te Papa Press has produced many high-quality, award-winning books, and this review is not a reflection on the success of the Press."

Questions about possible job losses and how much money the closure would save were not answered. It is understood four jobs could be lost in the move.

Trevelyan, who had planned to have another book published by Te Papa, said the move was "extraordinarily ill-conceived".

"The dismantling of Te Papa Press would mean such a loss to the museum – in terms of outreach, nationally and internationally, credibility as a research institution, and brand excellence. Te Papa Press is widely perceived as one of the success stories of the Te Papa project, and its highly effective staff have an enviable reputation in the museum and publishing world. If they go, print publishing at the museum will never recover."

She questioned why management would want to close a successful arm of the museum, and why it was being done so quickly and quietly.

The move "undermines Te Papa's mission, in mana, and its very existence", she said.

Writer and social commentator Hamish Keith also heavily criticised the move, and said it showed a "fundamental misunderstanding" by Te Papa's management about what "core museum business" is.

"It is museum's core business, it's not a peripheral extra added on like some peanuts you give away at a rugby game ... Publication is the one way a museum gets beyond its doors."

Museums often allowed important works that may not be picked up by publishers, including Trevelyan's work, to reach an audience - the success of which was proved by the book award, he said.

"Fundamentally it is a core business of museums to make research available."

Other works published by Te Papa have included, Berry Boys: Portraits of First World War Soldiers and Families by Michael Fitzgerald and Claire Regnault, The New Zealand Art Activity Book: 100+ Ideas for Creative Kids by Helen Lloyd and Holding on to Home: New Zealand Stories and Objects of the First World War by Kate Hunter and Kirstie Ross.