The Haskell Free Library and Opera House, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border in Derby, has opened a new entrance on the Canadian side. The door replaces a longstanding practice that allowed Canadian visitors to cross onto American soil without customs inspection when visiting the library.
That practice ended after a January 2025 visit from then-U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who made remarks about the library’s location while stepping over a line of tape marking the border. In March 2025, U.S. Border Patrol told library board president Sylvie Boudreau that the cross-border sidewalk would be restricted to library members until October 1, then closed permanently.
The new Canadian entrance ensures continued access for patrons from Stanstead, Quebec. The library, founded in 1904, has long served as a symbol of binational cooperation.
NEK will be looking into the cost of the new entrance and who funded it.
Originally reported by Barton Chronicle.
Photo: Austin via Unsplash. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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