I WOULD like to reassure your correspondent Mr Bowes (Letters, March 19 ) that all books withdrawn from and bought for York Libraries are done so in accordance with our stock policy, available on our website.

We want to ensure that our books are up to date, fresh and attractive, and one of the ways we do this is by discarding unwanted and unused items. We identify books that have not been borrowed and these are passed on to other libraries.

If they are still not used, the books are withdrawn. They can appear to look new if they have not been borrowed, but this does not mean they have been on the library shelves for a short while. We also withdraw books if the information in them is out of date.

Every year and in line with our stock policy, we buy £300,000 of new books for our libraries.

I would also like to add that libraries in the city of York are supported by volunteers but are run by paid professionals and there is a commitment to maintain this situation. If Mr Bowes would like to talk further with me about any of these issues, please do get in touch.

Fiona Williams, Head of libraries, information and archives, City of York Council