Critics claim that the county council's proposals, which would save £100,000 a year, could discourage residents from using libraries altogether.

It also flies in the face of recommendations made by the authority's overview and scrutiny library task force which earlier called for the library services' acquisitions fund to be "protected or increased".

But the authority says it will only have a "small impact." Lancashire County Council's Liberal Democrat group leader Coun David Whipp said of the cuts: "The county needs to be attracting more people into libraries and the provision of DVDs and CDs currently attracts people to them who may not borrow books.

"It's a backwards step as it would discourage people from using libraries.

"But the county council, together with everybody else, is going to have to tighten its belt and it's not acceptable to have council tax increases that are unaffordable for people."

The option is included in a council finance report to help the adult and community services directorate make £200,000 in policy-based savings in the upcoming budget for 2009/10.

The report says that the move "requires a change in the buying policy which will have initially a small impact on users of the service, particularly where this can be linked to changes in the market eg a reduced demand for the hiring of DVDs from libraries."

It adds: "In the longer term, this will have an increasing impact in terms of reducing the range of materials available to the public."

It comes as part of a whole package of cuts being proposed by county bosses in a bid to reduce next year's council tax rise to 3.45%.

A spokeswoman for the county council said: "DVD and video loans from Lancashire County Council's libraries have reduced by 27% since 2003/04 and music loans have fallen by 6% during the same period.

"The county council's Library and Information Service has been aware for some time of the changes in the way people are now accessing films and music.

"In 2003/04, loans of DVDs and CDs peaked but have since been falling steadily as more people are choosing to download music directly from the Internet and watch films on the many pay-per-view and subscription-based television channels."

David Lightfoot, head of cultural services for Lancashire County Council, said: "As part of its county-wide modernisation programme, the county council is changing the way it offers and provides services within libraries according to the needs and wishes of residents."

The plan will go through a consultation process before a final decision is made.

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