“The library, which I had never seen otherwise than wide open, was tight shut.”
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3otherwise than : in any way except the way that you are mentioning. macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/otherwise-than – user 66974 Jan 7 at 13:25
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Has the character seen the library wide open before or not? I am so confused , sorry. – Xyzxyz Jan 7 at 13:31
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The character had always seen the library wide open, apart from this time when they saw it shut. – user 66974 Jan 7 at 13:33
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Thank you very much. – Xyzxyz Jan 7 at 13:38
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1Or just "other than..." – Weather Vane Jan 7 at 13:41
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otherwise = in the other way or differently
than = compared to something
otherwise than = differently or in the other way compared to something
You never saw the library differently or in the other way compared to "wide open".
"differently/in the other way" modifies "saw"
differently from "wide open" means in the way that not wide open = closed or = opened with short distance
You never saw the library closed/in the other way before.
In the given context, otherwise than means that the person has only seen the library open before, and is now seeing it closed.
Try replacing with 'other than'. They mean the same thing and are both grammatically correct, though 'otherwise than' embellishes the sentence a little more.
A few helpful links: Glosbe definition, Macmillan Dictionary definition
