JK marked the publication of the sixth book, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, with a midnight launch at Edinburgh Castle in 2005.

Librarians warned over Potter book - April 6 2007
Publishers of the new Harry Potter novel have warned US libraries handling the book this summer not to peek before the official release date.

Libraries must limit the number of employees who handle the books before the July 21 release and provide names and contact information for each branch manager, according to the contract from publishers Scholastic.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final book in JK Rowling’s popular series about the boy wizard.

In Utah, Davis County library director Pete Giacoma got a contract on March 28 and shared it with county commissioners.

"I think we better ratify," Commissioner Bret Millburn said. "I think we’d get a spell cast on us."

The contract says failure to keep Deathly Hallows under wraps until July 21 could get libraries removed from future embargoed titles.

The contract states: "We acknowledge and agree that any such violation will cause irreparable harm to Scholastic and the author, JK Rowling, and that monetary damages will be inadequate to compensate for violations."

Despite the "weighty, ominous" language, Giacoma said he takes the contract seriously, although it may be part of the marketing strategy. "It adds to the mystique," he said.

The rules are required to honour Rowling’s wishes of preserving a "magical moment" for children, Scholastic spokeswoman Kyle Good said.

"When you have a print run of 12 million books that you’re sending out into the world, just in the US alone, and you do want to preserve a very special moment for children, you take whatever precautions you need," she said.

Final Harry Potter title revealed - Dec 21 2006
The name of the long-awaited seventh Harry Potter book was revealed today as Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

It will be the final instalment of JK Rowling’s massively popular series featuring the schoolboy wizard.

The title of the eagerly awaited book appears on publisher Bloomsbury’s website.

A publication date has not yet been set for the book, which will follow Harry and friends during their final year at Hogwarts.

Rowling, 41, admitted on her website yesterday that she is still writing the book.

She said: "I’m now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more.

"I both want, and don’t want, to finish this book."

But she reassured expectant fans: "Don’t worry, I will."

The multi-millionaire recently hinted that two characters are expected to die in the finale - and Harry himself might not survive - saying: "We are dealing with pure evil here.

"They don’t target extras, do they? They go for the main characters - well, I do."

Potter stress gets inside JK’s head - Dec 20 2006
JK Rowling has revealed that the stress of writing the final instalment of the Harry Potter series has been getting to her.

The multi-millionaire dreamed for the first time that she was inside Harry Potter’s head.

The 41-year-old has previously hinted that the famous boy wizard might be killed off in her grand finale - and now the under-pressure author has revealed that he has invaded her dreams for the first time.