GALWAY — A book geared to young teenage girls has been returned to the shelf at the Galway Public Library after a complaint from a patron prompted a review.

Library Board of Trustees President Joanna Lasher said the book was never actually taken out of circulation.

“Hang-Ups, Hook-Ups and Holding Out: Stuff You Need to Know About Your Body, Sex, & Dating,” was offered at the library for a couple of months before being removed in August. Patron Patricia Venditti raised concerns about the accuracy of some of the information in the book.

Lasher said Library Director Ashley Poulin checked the book out to read it and to ask a local doctor to review it for accuracy after receiving Venditti’s written request for review.

“It was not out of circulation, it was being reviewed and was still part of the collection,” Lasher said. “Our policies state that if a patron is unhappy with some material at the library, they can approach the board. The director makes the decision, according to our collections policy.”

Poulin said she read through the book and asked Dr. Anneke Pribis, a physician at the Galway Family Health clinic, to review it before determining the book was factual and should be made available to patrons.

“The book has gotten excellent reviews, and Dr. Pribis said she found no factual errors,” she said.

The book is part of a series of publications called, “Girlology.” Information is written by a pair of medical doctors practicing in South Carolina, according to a Web site publicizing the series.

“Melisa Holmes, MD, an ob-gyn and mother of three girls, and Patricia Hutchison, MD, a pediatrician and also mother of two girls, created Girlology because of their commitment to women’s health,” the Web site states.

Poulin said some of the library board members heard questions about the decision to review the book, but she had not.

“I haven’t heard any complaints at all,” she said. “As far as I know, this is the first time the review policy has been used and I think it went well. Now the board and staff know the procedure to follow if we want to reconsider any material.”

She said the library purchases about 60 new books and other materials to the collection each month.

“I buy the adult and teen materials and we probably add 30 books and 8 to 10 movies each month. Children’s books tend to be less expensive so we may purchase more books for that department each month,” she said.

She said donations are also received, but most of those materials are saved for the book sale rather than placed in the library for borrowing.

“If someone has read a new book that we don’t already have, we might add it to the collection, but that is rare,” she said.