Readers want more best-sellers and reference books

Library users hope public libraries will stock more best-sellers and reference books, as the government moves to adopt recommendations from an advisory group to improve services for the city's readers.

Candy Lo, who visits a library every week, said more new publications should be available.

'There are not many popular English novels for teenagers to read,' she said. 'Most of the English books are classics and they are not very appealing to young people.'

Ms Lo, who began going to the library after she had her first child, said she found there were many English books for small children but not many for teenagers.

Her child, now 17, often borrows books from friends rather than from public libraries.

'The Central Library might have popular English books like Harry Potter, but I do not find that at a public library in Aberdeen where I live,' she said. 'There are often not enough copies of popular books to meet the demand and users always have to wait for a long time before they can borrow the book they want.'

Another library user, Miss Yu, who declined to give her full name, said she hoped public libraries would stock more reference books for university students.

'Reference books are very expensive, but I need them when I have to do research for papers and projects,' said the second-year student, who is studying media and culture.

'It would be convenient for students if we could borrow reference books from public libraries instead of getting them from the campus all the time.'

Secondary school teacher Mark Chu said he was very pleased with services provided by public libraries and said it would be difficult for him to pick flaws in the present system.

'I think we have one of the best library systems in the world. Apart from serving as a book centre, many cultural exhibitions and talks are also held at the Central Library. It is very convenient for book lovers, as they can attend these activities when borrowing books,' he said.

'The size of some public libraries in different districts might not be as spacious as the Central Library, but I think the book collection is quite comprehensive.

'You cannot expect every library to stock over 100 copies of Harry Potter whenever a new book has come out. It is not fair to compare public libraries with private bookstores.'