The international boundary is marked as a black line on the floor of the reading room of the Haskell Library. In this picture, Canada is on the right side of the line and the United States is on the left. (Source: Wikipedia)
A small town in southern Quebec says American authorities have decided to close the Canadian access to an historic library that sits on the border between the two countries.
Inside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House there is a worn strip of black tape on the floor marking the U.S. and Canadian border. The building’s main entrance is on the American side, in Derby, VT, but for decades Canadians have been able to access the library without a passport or visa by entering the Canadian side of the building, in Stanstead, Que. and following the sidewalk to the entrance.
But that is reportedly changing.
The Town of Stanstead said in a news release late Thursday evening that U.S. officials have made a “unilateral decision” to close access on the Canadian side. It’s not clear why the change was made.
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The library was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1985 and was donated for the use of citizens in both countries in memory of American sawmill owner Carlos Haskell and his Canadian wife Martha Stewart Haskell by their family, according to Parks Canada.
The library, which is privately funded but receives U.S. government grants, has welcomed Canadian and American visitors for more than a century since it was built in 1901.
The library’s entrance is on the Vermont side. Previously, Canadian visitors were able to enter using the sidewalk and entrance on the American side but were “encouraged,” according to the library’s website, to bring documentation.
“This closure not only compromises Canadian visitors’ access to a historic symbol of cooperation and harmony between the two countries but also weakens the spirit of cross-border collaboration that defines this iconic location,” the town of Stanstead said in a press release Thursday.
Sylvie Boudreau, the president of the library’s board of trustees, said she was told by a U.S. border patrol officer earlier this week that access from Canada without going through an official customs crossing will be closed, starting in October.
In an interview with CBC News on Friday, Boudreau said she was overwhelmed and near tears. Boudreau said she was “sad, disappointed, even angry, but we will rise above all this.”
For now, Boudreau said the American entrance will still be available to members with a library card, as well as staff.
Boudreau said the library will need to renovate an entrance on the Canadian side, and she already had plans to meet with a contractor.
“It will be a lot of restructuring, a lot of money to be spent,” she said.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
