Tauranga Library's only copy of Into the River – the first banned book in a generation – went back on the shelves yesterday afternoon, but was immediately loaned out.

The controversial title was loaned by a teacher who wants to read it before discussing it with her class, says Tauranga City Libraries manager Jill Best.

Michelle Anderson, Tauranga Libraries team leader for child and teenage services, places Into the River back on the shelves. Photo: Andrew Campbell.

'But if there is a demand, we will get more copies,” she says.

Into The River, a teenage coming of age novel by Auckland writer Ted Dawe, was banned on September 7 by President of the Film and Literature Board of Review, Don Mathieson QC.

The interim ban was in place until the board could consider whether it should be restricted, and the decision to unban the book was far from unanimous, reported Stuff.

The president of the Film and Literature Board of Review says the collective felt the actions of the censor in banning the book were 'illegal”.

Board president Don Mathieson delivered a dissenting minority report, but the remainder of the board voted to allow the book to be sold without restriction, saying a previous ban on under-14s was no longer justified.

The book was banned following pressure from conservative campaign group Family First, which is outraged at the unbanning decision. National director Bob McCoskrie says the ruling is a 'loss” for New Zealand families.

According to Jill, while the book is critically acclaimed, it is not well read.

'It didn't issue very well,” she says. 'The cover doesn't have a great deal of teen appeal, and I think it was originally self-published, so it didn't have a lot of promotion.

'But the ban has done wonders for its promotion.”

In the two-and-a-half years Tauranga City Libraries has had a copy, the book has only been loaned out four times.

'We only have one copy as it happens because it wasn't particularly popular,” says Jill.

Since Into The River won the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards in June 2013, it has been unrestricted, restricted to children under 14, unrestricted again, banned, and now unbanned.

The publicity resulted in author Ted Dawe being approached by a Hollywood movie maker, an audio book producer and publishers seeking Dutch and French translation rights – the silver lining in Ted Dawe's censorship nightmare.

New Zealand publisher Penguin Random House New Zealand is delighted that the Film and Literature Board of Review has reached a majority decision that will allow Into the River to once again be freely available to young readers across the country.

Penguin Random House New Zealand managing director, Margaret Thompson, says: 'The company is delighted the book's intended audience will now be able to access the book freely.

'It grapples with important issues, including racism and bullying, that are relevant to young New Zealanders today, particularly teenage male readers.

The board acknowledged that Into the River is 'likely to inform and educate the intended readers about the potentially negative consequences that can follow from involvement in casual sex, underage drinking, drug taking, crime, violence and bullying”.