The town of Stanstead, Que., says U.S. authorities have unilaterally decided to close the main Canadian access to the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line, Vt. which straddles the border between Vermont and Quebec.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
For 120 years, the Haskell Free Library & Opera House has straddled the Quebec-Vermont border, offering equal access to Canadians and Americans alike, passport-free. That was the vision of its founder, the philanthropist and dual-citizen Martha Haskell, who believed in friendship between the two countries.
As of next week, that remarkable run of binational harmony will come to an end when U.S. authorities cut off Canadian access to the grand turreted building, a decision announced on Thursday evening.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection claims the library – which is divided down the middle between Stanstead, Que., and Derby Line, Vt., with the sole entrance located on the American side – has become a popular crossing for illegal migration and smuggling. But local residents and politicians say the move is an outrageous violation of Haskell’s principles and history that isn’t justified by facts, one that could permanently damage the library’s unique atmosphere.
“The announcement today doesn’t make any sense, in my opinion,” said Jody Stone, Mayor of Stanstead, at a hastily arranged press conference on the Canadian side of the border Friday.
A library, divided
“For more than a hundred years we’ve had an unwritten agreement that allowed Canadians to have access to the library. … It was a way of doing things that worked. Very few problems were raised, a testament to the co-operation and friendship between our two countries.”
Although it made her “very emotional,” the move was not a surprise to Sylvie Boudreau, president of the library’s board. The U.S. government has been growing increasingly suspicious of the library for years and tightening border-enforcement measures around it.
Canadians could still walk across an undefended border and enter the Haskell’s front entrance on the American side, but had to pass concrete blocks and boulders installed to deter cars, a ‘No Loitering’ sign in languages including Romanian and Haitian Creole, and security cameras hanging from a tree out front.
Cross-border meetings between families who couldn’t be together for visa or immigration reasons, once a regular and celebrated feature of the library, were banned a few years ago.
In January, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem visited the Haskell while commemorating the death of a border agent killed in the line of duty nearby and taunted staff by repeating “51st state,” President Donald Trump’s provocation about annexing Canada, when she crossed on to the Canadian side of the library, while her entourage laughed.
This most recent escalation was “a matter of time since the visit,” said Ms. Boudreau.
Canadians will still have options for entering the Haskell without going to an official U.S. border crossing. Until Oct. 1, library cardholders will be able to walk in through the American entrance as usual, after a check by a border guard, “a phased rollout” designed to avoid disrupting library services, said CBP spokesperson Ryan Brissette.
Illegal migration and smuggling around the Haskell is a real problem, he insisted: There were 147 apprehensions related to illegal activity surrounding the library in the 2024 fiscal year.
Undeterred, Ms. Boudreau is planning to convert a rarely used emergency exit on the Canadian side of the building into a new entrance, possibly as soon as Monday. Signs inside will request that patrons leave the way they entered to assuage U.S. concerns about border-hoppers.
In the short-term, Haskell staff will lay down old carpets to cover mud and hire a locksmith to adapt the creaky old door, but eventually they will need to build a new parking lot, a walkway and accommodations for visitors with disabilities to make the grand new Stanstead entrance fit for purpose. The library has established an online fundraising portal and is seeking government grants for the project, which could cost more than $100,000.
Inside the library, it will be “business as usual,” said Ms. Boudreau. “My employees are not going to start playing at police.” Newly posted U.S. border agents will be responsible for patrolling who comes out of the building on the American side, and Ms. Boudreau – herself a retired Canada Border Services Agency officer – hopes their presence will not dampen the easygoing feel of the library.
Who knows, she added, maybe being caught in the thick of geopolitical tension will ignite curiosity about the Haskell and raise attendance.
Regular visitors are determined to support the library in defiance of the Trump administration. Peggy Alger, a lifelong Stanstead resident, will not be showing her library card to border agents at the front door if they ask to see it.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve gone through that entrance my whole life and I don’t see any reason to stop now,” said Ms. Alger, whose mother was a librarian at the Haskell in the 1980s. “For my own personal integrity, I don’t believe I need to go through the back door because the orange clown said so.”
Inside the library, two long-time neighbours met for the first time across the strip of frayed electrical tape that represents the international boundary. Pauline Lussier of Stanstead and Chris Blais of Derby Line didn’t know each other until converging on the Haskell for Friday’s press conference, but they quickly bonded over their shared love of the library.
“The message is this,” said Ms. Lussier, squeezing Ms. Blais in a bear hug.
