Oz library labels Armstrong books fiction

Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping on his way to seven Tour de France titles.

Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping on his way to seven Tour de France titles.

Published Jan 21, 2013

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Sydney – An Australian library has found itself in the spotlight after it put up a sign declaring all books by disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong would soon be moved to the fiction section.

The notice posted by a part-time staffer at Manly Library read: “All non-fiction Lance Armstrong books, including 'Lance Armstrong: Images of a Champion', 'The Lance Armstrong Performance Program' and 'Lance Armstrong: The World's Greatest Champion' will soon be moved to the fiction section”.

The sign, which has since been taken down, concluded with a smiley face.

Manly library's Wendy Ford said a young university student who works at the library for a few hours on weekends made the sign as a bit of fun.

“He just thought it was something that would be humorous,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald, adding he had no idea it would spark thousands of comments on Twitter and be picked up by news outlets in the US and Europe.

Ford said the worker would face an internal review for the stunt, which has reportedly seen Manly Council, which runs the library, inundated with calls, but was unlikely to be reprimanded.

“We are hoping it just does blow over,” she said.

In a much-anticipated interview with US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong admitted for the first time that an array of performance-enhancing drugs helped sweep him to a record seven Tour de France titles from 1999-2005.

Years of aggressive denials – including vitriolic attacks on those who questioned him, collapsed last year when he was stripped of his Tour titles and banned for life by the US Anti-Doping Agency.

Ford said the library could not move Armstrong's books into another category without first receiving instructions from the Libraries Australia governing body. – Sapa-AFP

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