Gothenburg residents accidentally break into library
The city library in Gothenburg, Sweden, is busy on All Saints' Day. People are sitting in the newspaper corner, strolling through the rows of shelves. The library is actually closed. But you don't really notice for a long time.
It's cold on this Saturday afternoon in Gothenburg. Not particularly cold, but cold enough to make a short walk into the warm city library seem attractive. Arvid Jadenius and his wife set off with their two-year-old son. They want to spend some time in the children's section, let the little one run around and enjoy the day off.
It's business as usual in the library: people leafing through the newspapers, browsing the shelves, borrowing books, families with children coming in and out. Just a normal day at the library. One small detail could have made Arvid Jadenius suspicious, but he doesn't really notice it: There are no librarians in Gothenburg City Library on this day.
Jadenius told the local newspaper Göteborgs-Posten afterwards: "It was as usual. We didn't think about the fact that there were no staff." He went on to explain: "There were quite a few people in the library."
Door not locked
According to media reports, 446 people visited the city library on Götaplatsen in Gothenburg on Saturday, November 4. The library was supposed to be closed for All Saints' Day. But the library staff had apparently forgotten to close a door. People came in thinking that the library was open. Some visitors realized that the library was closed, at least in theory, and went home. Others, however, saw the practical side of things and were not bothered by the lack of staff.
According to librarian Anna Carin Elf, the unattended reading session only ended after she happened to pass by the library and was surprised to see it so busy. Elf told Swedish radio station P4 that she and her supervisor then explained to the people that the library was closed. They then quietly closed their books and left.
"Thank you for last Saturday, dear Gothenburg"
"It's absolutely fantastic that as a Gothenburg citizen you can walk into an empty library and treat it so lovingly," said Elf on Swedish radio. Nothing was destroyed, nothing was stolen. 246 books had been borrowed, all of which have since been returned.
The city library published a post on Instagram with the words "Thank you for last Saturday, dear Gothenburg". Everyone had treated the library - and therefore everyone else's property - with love: "Just as it should be."
Arvid Jadenius apparently sees it the same way. He told the newspaper Göteborg-Posten: "It's amazing that the library can be so open and that the people of Gothenburg take care of their library. There is obviously a desire to be there," says Arvid Jadenius. The library wants to fulfill this wish. At the end of her post on Instagram, she wrote: "P.S. We'll be back for you next Saturday!"
The unintentional library opening attracted international attention, with news outlets worldwide reporting on the incident in Gothenburg, Sweden. Arvid Jadenius and his family, who accidentally entered the library, shared their experience with a Swedish radio station, expressing their gratitude for the community's respectful treatment of the library.
Source: www.ntv.de
