‘Nothing was stolen’: New Zealanders carry on borrowing from closed, unstaffed library

Door security error meant one of country's largest city libraries was left open for hours, allowing hundreds to browse shelves

As New Zealand celebrated a national holiday, one of the country's largest city libraries was closed, with staff and security given the day off. But an error with the automated door programming meant Tranga's doors opened to the public as usual - and the unstaffed and unsecured library was happily used by the public, who browsed and checked out books for hours before someone realised the mistake.

As well as its books, the library is home to a wide variety of artworks and sculpture - but staff say nothing was stolen, and there were no serious incidents to report.