Bradford Council has promised to review the way stock is withdrawn from its libraries to make the process more transparent''.

The move follows anger after 1,500 books were removed from Keighley's reference library and sent for recycling or sold, some to dealers.

The matter was uncovered by town councillor Siobhan Alderson, although her allegations have prompted an investigation by the district's head of culture, tourism and sport, Jane Glaister.

She said she had found no evidence of stock items being skipped or of unprofessional or criminal' actions being taken which would be detrimental to our heritage assets.'' The professional librarians and local studies staff at Keighley Library have spent several months assessing the stock on the first floor preparing to box it up for safe storage in advance of the £1.1 million refurbishment of the library,'' Ms Glaister explained in a letter.

She said staff identified a proportion of stock that was no longer needed for a number of reasons, including if it had no direct relevance to Keighley or there was duplicate material in the collection.

The majority of the items were out of date modern reference books, which were offered to library customers on the book sale trolley.

She said: Other items selected were then offered to reputable dealers as part of a formal process. Those items that remained unsold or with no financial value were sent for recycling. In addition, a small number of duplicate items were transferred to the Keighley Local History Group to form part of their collection.'' Ms Glaister added that one copy of the John Brown Bible is now missing, that the Brigg Collection was never considered for withdrawal and that all income received will be used to invest in new stock for Keighley.

Council officials are now taking legal advice on whether to report Coun Alderson to the Standards Board for controversial comments, which involved her describing the situation as outrageous''.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, the council's executive member for culture, claimed the matter was not a political issue'' and said that council officers were in charge of the scheme.

She said just because Bradford Council owns and manages the library, elected councillors should not be held responsible.

"This is a management issue and it is their job to carry it out," she said.

But Coun Alderson said a Keighley library staff member had told her to take the books, including a John Brown Bible, to prevent them being skipped in Bradford.

She also called for a full list of the disposed items and how much they had been sold for.

She said: This is an absolute scandal. Those books belong to the people of Keighley and it's a crying shame they're being disposed of.''

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