Roanoke County school officials removed copies of a controversial book from the libraries at William Byrd and Hidden Valley high schools this week after a Byrd teacher gave another copy to a student and a parent complained.

The novel, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," which includes sexually explicit scenes, was distributed in an English class. The female student shared it with a male friend and his father ultimately contacted the school's principal.

Chuck Lionberger, a spokesman for the school system, declined to identify the teacher involved.

According to school officials, "appropriate personnel action" was taken by the principal against the teacher but the specifics were not disclosed. A written statement on the division's Web site referenced the long-standing practice of refraining to comment on individual personnel matters. School board Chairman Drew Barrineau echoed the stance.

He said he has received about 125 e-mails, mostly from Canada, Texas, Florida, California and elsewhere around the country, since a story was published Monday on the WorldNetDaily Web site. There has been very little correspondence by way of Roanoke County parents, he said.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky was one of the top 10 most frequently challenged books last year. It ranked sixth according to the American Library Association Web site.

Lionberger said there had been another copy of the book at Cave Spring High School but it was reported as lost last year and has not been returned.

He said the book was placed in the William Byrd library following the school board's prescribed set of rules. Section 6.40 of the school system's policy also sets forth parameters to review challenged material. A team of three librarians will read the book, review and discuss it before making a recommendation about whether to return the book to the library collection.

Lionberger said the complaint process is not engaged often.

"On average we might get one every couple of years," he said. "It is usually very rare."

Barrineau said the school board plans to review the procedures for accepting books into the school libraries.

Last week marked the annual Banned Books Week, a national effort to increase awareness of First Amendment rights, reading and what books are not available in libraries.