The accidental library day (Sweden)

First appeared here.

The Gothenburg Public Library in Sweden had one job that day, stay closed. But thanks to a small oversight, the doors were accidentally left wide open. No alarms. No chaos. Just a quietly unlocked library standing there like a confused introvert who accidentally hosted a party.

And here’s where it gets Swedish.

Instead of anyone taking advantage, over 400 people strolled in like it was business as usual. They browsed. They read. They even checked out 245 books… properly. No one trashed the place. No one walked out with a stolen shelf. It was as if the entire city collectively decided, “Well, it’s open, so let’s behave better than ever.”

When library staff returned, they found everything in perfect order. One librarian joked, “Next time we want to boost circulation, maybe we’ll just forget to lock up again.” It turns out, in Sweden, even unsupervised libraries get treated better than most house parties.