THE Bible and Koran will remain on different shelves in Exeter Central Library despite official guidelines.

The two religious books have become the centre of interest after some Muslims complained of finding the Koran less prominently displayed than the bible in several UK libraries.

Officials responded, with guidance from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and backed by ministers, that all holy books should be treated equally.

The new guidelines have been welcomed by Devon library bosses.

A spokesman said: "We welcome the new guidelines as a clarification of the legal context of our regular and ongoing selection and management of library stock.

"The guidance will not change our overall approach to stock selection, however, nor will it change particular stock purchase decisions."

The library service has an obligation to provide access to information without restricting it on any grounds except that of the law.

This includes the requirement that library services do not 'encourage racial or religious hatred' under the 1986 Public Order Act.

"The management of collections is at the discretion of library staff in their professional role as librarian, " said the spokesman.

At present, books in libraries are catalogued using the Dewey Decimal Classification system.

The spokesman said: "Both the Bible and the Koran are shelved numerically under religion and in Exeter Central Library they happen to be on different shelves."