The main purpose of this study was to examine how a selection of 1993 year's first books

had been spread to a selection of public libraries in 161 municipals. The state 's cultural policy

recommends that it is the public libraries' duty to lead the way to new, unknown authors.

We wanted to find out if this was fulfilled. The spreading of the books was scrutinized from a

number of variables, e.g. gender of the authors, reviews and size of the municipals. Furthermore,

28 public libraries answered an inquiry regarding their acquisition policy concerning

first books. The conclusion was that the libraries did not fulfil the state's cultural policy

satisfyingly. and this applied particularly to the smaller municipals. 70 % of the public libraries

that answered the inquiry confirmed that they have a responsibility for making these books

accessible to borrowers. One of the reasons why the libraries did not fulfil the policy was

economic. In this situation the libraries often choose those books which are most requested by

the borrowers.