Hong Kong’s public library users are being invited to help get rid of any undesirable books, such as those that violate the city’s national security law, with new ways for readers to report any questionable items.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) on Thursday suggested that other books people should look out for are those that “exaggerate violence, pornography and vulgarism”.

To enable people to alert staff to potentially problematic items in library collections, special “book report” forms are being made available, along with a dedicated web page and email address.

“When filling out the form, public members are required to submit information on the library material in question, including title, relevant part, page number, text paragraph,” a statement said.

It added that people won’t get a response to their reports, but the books they flag up could be removed from library shelves to be reviewed.

The move comes after the Audit Commission recently urged officials to step up efforts to ensure that books in public libraries don't pose a threat to national security.

Works by a number of authors, including non-political titles, have been stripped from library shelves.