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The British Library has denied that a link to its sponsors on its newly launched online public catalogue is an advertisement.

The link to Amazon.co.uk came under fire on a librarians' mailing list. Located at the bottom left-hand corner of the website, it is accompanied by the text "Buy books NOW from our sponsor".

An anonymous librarian wrote: "The implications of carrying advertising can be viewed as subverting the public service remit."

But the BL's spokeswoman said: "It is not an advertising agreement at all. It's a special link allowing users who search on one service to search the other automatically." The three-year sponsorship deal would help the library offset the costs for the online catalogue, she added.