IT'S the publishing phenomenon which has swept the world.

But if you want to borrow racy novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, from a library in the West of Scotland, you face a long wait.

All libraries have lengthy waiting lists for the so-called 'mummy porn' series, which has become the fastest selling paperbacks of all time.

Now they are clamouring to order more copies to cope with demand.

In Glasgow, 214 people are waiting for a call from the area's 32 local libraries to pick it up – though luckily there are 90 copies to go around.

Another 32 copies have been ordered to cope with the demand.

In South Lanarkshire there are 29 copies of the book, with 11 due in soon – but there are 90 reservations.

A spokeswoman for South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, said: "There are 90 reservations from our libraries, so we have adjusted the loan period to two weeks, which frequently happens with high demand titles.

"Of the 90 reservations, 22 are being delivered to the customer's preferred library for loan or are awaiting issue to the customer.

"The interest level is comparable with the Twilight series, following the release of the first film, or the Harry Potter titles."

However, library bosses say the book, by English writer Erika Mitchell, 49, who writes as EL James, is still a long way behind both the Harry Potter and Stieg Laarson's Millennium trilogy in popularity.

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, which runs the city's libraries, said: "There is no doubt that Fifty Shades of Grey has captured the public imagination and demand for the book has been high at our libraries.

"However, it still has some way to go to reach the popularity of the Millennium Trilogy or the Harry Potter books."

Renfrewshire Libraries have 61 people waiting for their two copies of the book, which tells the story of a student seduced by a billionaire sado masochist and is set in Seattle.

Although the libraries have tried to order more copies they have not been able to as the publisher is out of stock, meaning readers might have to six months to borrow a copy, if every reader keeps it for two weeks.

Over in East Renfrewshire there's a six-week wait to borrow one of the library service's nine copies, as there are 28 people in the queue.

However, bosses there say it's not just for the women – they have plenty of men asking for it too.

They also say it's not their most popular read.

A spokesman for East Renfrewshie Council, said: "There are many books that are very popular with customers and have waiting lists, including books by Lee Child, James Patterson, Harlan Coben and Peter James.

"The Affair, by Lee Child, had more than 40 reservations at one point."

North Lanarkshire Council put another 30 copies on its shelves yesterday, to add to the existing two, and there are 199 people on the waiting list.

A spokesman, said: "Fifty Shades of Grey has taken the world by storm, and library users are queuing up to get their hands on it."

sarah.swain@ eveningtimes.co.uk