THE traditional paper book is in no danger of being killed off by an electronic gadget, says the British Library.

Sony will launch an electronic book in Waterstone's across the country tomorrow.

The £199 slimline Sony Reader can hold up to 160 electronic books and the capacity can be increased using memory cards.

But Stephen Bury from the British Library said: "How can you guarantee you are going to have access to the books on the Sony Reader in five or 10 years' time? If you've got a library of 100 hard copy books it's hard to lose them.

"We have books at the British Library that have been annotated by the authors or famous people and people are still going to want to experience that."

He did think the Sony Reader would be useful for students or businessmen who were more concerned with the content of a book than its look and feel.

Helen Fraser from Penguin said the Sony Reader would compliment the paper book but did not threaten its existence.