A memorandum submitted to a Commons select committee, ahead of a meeting with US publishers, states: "Leading US newspapers are actively considering abandoning the supply of the 200-odd copies they make available for sale in London -- mainly to Americans who want full details of their local news and sport. They do not make profits out of these minimal and casual sales and they can no longer risk losing millions of dollars in a libel action which they would never face under US law. Does the UK really want to be seen as the only country in Europe -- indeed in the world -- where important US papers cannot be obtained in print form?"

The submission, on behalf of a number of US media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and MacMillan (US), as well as Human Rights Watch, Global Witness US and Greenpeace International, added: "The consequences of making media organisations liable for putting articles -- perfectly lawful by the law of their own domicile -- on websites which are occasionally accessed in England should be obvious. The cost of fighting libel actions may lead internet publishers to build 'fire walls' against access from the UK, in order to avoid such actions."

Lipson spent 31 years as an editor at the Book Review, and she was the children's book editor from 1984 until her retirement in 2005. She was only the third person to hold that position, created in 1935, says the New York Times.

Lipson was the author of The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children (Three Rivers Press), a reference guide to 1,001 titles, ranging from picture books to young adult novels. Roaring Brook Press in August will publish a children's book by Lipson called Applesauce Season, "about a family's tradition of making the dessert."

Lipson made frequent appearances on TV and radio to talk about children's literature, and strangers often stopped her at cocktail parties asking for book recommendations for their kids.