A library in Stockport was forced to close after staff were threatened and abused by a gang of anti-social yobs.
It is understood the trouble at Marple Library has been going on for several weeks.
On Tuesday, council bosses decided to shut the library early.
A notice on the door said it was due to 'persistent levels of anti-social behaviour'.
The 'Open+' scheme - which allows registered members to access the library out of staffed hours - was also unavailable from October 1 to 3.
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According to Stockport council, the library was closed as a precaution after staff were verbally abused and threatened on a number of occasions.
Coun Kate Butler, the authority's cabinet member with responsibility for libraries said abuse against staff would not be tolerated.
She said: "There have been a number of unacceptable anti-social behaviour incidents recently in the Marple area which we are dealing with.
"We are proactively working with the police, schools and our anti-social behaviour team.
"We have identified the individuals responsible for these incidents and we are now tackling the issues with the families involved with support from the schools.
"The library was closed as a precaution due to the fact that some of our library staff were verbally abused and threatened on several occasions.
"We will not tolerate abuse towards our staff and their safety is of paramount importance to us.
"We hope to reinstate the normal library opening hours as soon as we can."
Marple Inspector Shaun Flavell said police were working with the council and library staff to resolve the problem.
He added: "Visits have been made, crime prevention advice provided and on Tuesday one of my staff attended a meeting to discuss the problem.
"We are presently attempting to identify those responsible and will deal with them appropriately when this is done."
