Censorship challenges to books in UK public libraries have received renewed attention recently. This study sought to establish the incidence of censorship challenges to books in Scottish public libraries in the years 2005-2009 and the actions taken in response to these challenges. It was found that eight local authorities in Scotland had received…

Over recent years there has been considerable confusion over the use of the term "e-book", and this article examines the variety of definitions used to date while proposing a definitive construct. Beginning by examining the definitions of "book", the paper moves on to consider the essential element of a book--the content, and…

A librarian stresses that book selection in public libraries should satisfy community interests and needs rather than the "balanced stock" recommended by Melvil Dewey. (MBR)

Guidelines on the why, what, and how of selection of reading materials for a children's library are discussed, including: (1) money, range of demand, and attitude of customers; (2) proportions and quality of stock, and bias; and (3) alternative schemes for critically assessing books as an important step in the selection process. (MBR)

Frequency-of-circulation distributions from 16 United Kingdom libraries participating in initial period of operation of the Public Lending Right are discussed. Differences between the libraries are highlighted, and, for each, the adequacy of various refinements of the simplest model (geometric distribution, negative binomial distribution, or mixed…

This article reports on one aspect of a Laser Foundation-funded research project that tested different models of e-book delivery and offered guidelines for developing e-book collections in UK public libraries. An e-book collection was offered to library users (primarily, users relying on a mobile library service) on Personal Digital Assistant…

The Mass-Observation Archive at the University of Sussex sends regular "directives" to its panel of volunteer correspondents around the UK asking them to reflect on various issues relating to the day-to-day lives of ordinary people. Two directives from the 1980s and 1990s relate to libraries, books and reading habits. These sets of…