Young members of a reading project couldn't believe their luck when they were asked to go shopping for £3,000 of CDs at a Bradford music store.

But instead of walking home with their mammoth collection of the latest rock and pop anthems from the HMV store in Cheapside, they headed straight for Bradford Central Library.

The library is restocking its Sound and Vision department and the members of Bradford's Reading the City project, including Chelsea Parker, pictured, were asked to select its latest range of titles, including CDs, videos and DVDs.

Around 15 people from the project - aiming to get people aged 16-30 to read more - were sent to HMV to pick up new material, ranging from drum 'n' bass to opera on Saturday, for the library's shelves.

The library's Sound and Vision department was opened in 1985 but the library has had a music section since it opened in 1967.

Reading the City's reading development officer Esther Binder said the aim of the store-run was to involve as many people as possible in the selection process, getting them to share responsibility and ownership.

"The library gets its material from the usual stockists in dribs and drabs but it got £3,000 to spend this time and thought it would be good for young people to select the stuff themselves by hand, as they know what is popular at present," said Esther.

"The older stock will stay but we are always looking to expand our range of material. Part of what we are trying to do at the library is get new displays and stock, and make it more attractive.

"Everyone picking stock was put into teams of three or four and sent to a section of the store to choose a different type of music, video or DVD - so hopefully we kept confusion down to a minimum!"

Rolf Mason, 23, a member of the Reading the City project, said the store-run had been great fun.

"It has been brilliant," he said. "We all thought it was going to be hard to fill our baskets with stuff that we don't really listen to but I think we've managed well."

Rolf helps the project by running a monthly reading group at the Beehive Inn, Halifax Road, Bradford.

Reading the City, which is based at Bradford Central Library in Princes Way, promotes reading and the use of libraries, both at the library and in projects and workshops. The year-long project started last November.

Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, executive member for the environment, said: "Involving young people in this way is an excellent way of making them feel part of the process and keeping them involved in the work of the library, as well as making sure the library gets the media that young people are interested in using."

HMV agreed to a ten per cent discount on all the material purchased during the store-run.