A beloved library that united the US and Canada faces new border restrictions

DERBY, Vt. (AP) — For Allyson Howell, her hometown library is more than just a place to borrow a book; it's also a unique space where different cultures from the U.S. and Canada have mingled and developed ties for more than a century.

Howell and others fear that could change under a new regulation implemented by President Donald Trump's administration as tensions continue to rise between the two countries.

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House straddles the line between Howell's village of Derby Line, Vermont, and the town of Stanstead, Quebec. The entrance to the imposing Victorian-style brick and stone building is on the U.S. side, but an informal agreement between the two countries has always allowed Canadians to enter without a passport.

Canadians cross the border on a sidewalk leading directly to the library that is monitored by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The nearest border checkpoint is not within eyesight of the building.

Inside the library, there is a line on the floor marking the international border, though residents of both countries have been able to move freely among the stacks.

But since Tuesday, the only Canadian visitors able to enter on the U.S. side have been cardholders and library workers. All others have had to use an emergency exit on the Canadian side. Starting Oct. 1, all Canadians will have to enter from their side of the border or pass through a security checkpoint on the U.S. side. It’s a big change from the honor system arrangement the two countries have always used, users of the library said.

“This feels like this one more step of building this chasm between these two nations that is really devoid of curiosity and understanding," said Howell, who described the library as “really special” and a “real symbol” of international cooperation between two long-standing allies.

Derby Line is a village of about 700 people within the town of Derby, located in the rural Northeast Kingdom section of Vermont. Stanstead is a town of about 3,000 residents.

Like many rural border communities in the U.S. and Canada, their economies and cultures are linked. But the ties have become strained under Trump, who has advanced tariffs and tightened border protections in some communities that are especially reliant on each other.

“In many ways it’s a powerful symbol for all of us who live in this border region,” Rick Ufford-Chase, mayor of nearby Newport, Vermont, said of the library. “The border may exist in some kind of theoretical way, it’s a political reality, but it hasn’t been a reality for families who have been moving back and forth across this border for decades.”

The new U.S. regulation strikes at the heart of what the library stands for, according to members of communities on both sides of the border. It was built in the early 1900s with a goal of uniting those communities with literacy, art and culture, said Sylvie Boudreau, president of the library’s board of trustees.

“It’s a place to reunite the two countries, two communities,” said Boudreau, who lives on the Quebec side of the border. “We’re all friends, we’re all family. We stick together.”

Because of the regulation, the library will need to build a new entrance on the Canadian side, a renovation that will cost at least $100,000, Boudreau said.

“For me it's not necessary, because there's always been a good relation with both authorities, either American or Canadian,” Boudreau said. “It would have been great if we could have kept this (U.S.) entrance open."

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

A young girl walks over the Canada-USA international border line into Canada from inside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line, Vermont on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

Pauline Lussier, left from Stanstead, Quebec and Chris Blais from Derby Line, Vermont, hold each other's flags as they straddle the international border line inside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

Americans offer silent support as they stand on their side of the border to watch a press conference about the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Stanstead, Que., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

A young girl reads straddling the Canada-USA international border line inside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line, Vt., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

A person walks over the international border into Canada in front of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line, Vt., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

A family from the United States enters the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line, Vt., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

A couple from Canada pass the international border line into Canada inside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House from Derby Line, Vt., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

An American man crosses into Canada to attend a press conference about the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Stanstead, Que., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

People walk past the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Derby Line, Vt., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

Penny Thomas who drove from Newport, Vt., has a tear roll down her cheek as she holds a sign on the standing in Derby, Vt., outside the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Stanstead, Que., on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Christinne Muschi /The Canadian Press via AP)

Russia views efforts to end its three-year war with Ukraine as “a drawn-out process,” a Kremlin spokesman said Monday, after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed frustration with the two countries’ leaders as he tries to bring about a truce.

“We are working to implement some ideas in connection with the Ukrainian settlement. This work is ongoing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

“There is nothing concrete yet that we could and should announce. This is a drawn-out process because of the difficulty of its substance,” he said when asked about Trump’s anger at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments dismissing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s legitimacy to negotiate a deal.

Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for a full and immediate 30-day halt in the fighting. The feasibility of a partial ceasefire on the Black Sea, used by both countries to transport shipments of grain and other cargo, was cast into doubt after Kremlin negotiators imposed far-reaching conditions.

Trump promised during last year’s U.S. election campaign that he would bring Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II to a swift conclusion.

Peskov didn’t directly address Trump’s criticism of Putin on Sunday when he said he was “angry, pissed off” that Putin had questioned Zelenskyy’s credibility as leader.

But he said that Putin “remains absolutely open to contacts” with the U.S. president and was ready to speak to Trump.

Both countries are preparing for a spring-summer campaign on the battlefield, analysts and Ukrainian and Western officials say.

Zelenskyy said late Sunday that there has been no let-up in Russia’s attacks as it drives on with its invasion of its neighbor that began in February 2022. He said the attacks demonstrated Russia’s unwillingness to forge a settlement.

“The geography and brutality of Russian strikes, not just occasionally, but literally every day and night, show that Putin couldn’t care less about diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address.

“And almost every day, in response to this proposal, there are Russian drones, bombs, artillery shelling, and ballistic strikes,” he said.

He urged further international pressure on Moscow to compel Russia to negotiate, including new sanctions.

Trump said he would consider adding further sanctions on Russia, which already faces steep financial penalties, and using tariffs to undermine its oil exports.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, came under another Russian drone attack overnight, injuring three people, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said Monday.

Russia also fired two ballistic missiles and 131 Shahed and decoy drones, the Ukrainian air force said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses shot down 66 Ukrainian drones early Monday over three Russian regions.

“The continuing attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces on Russia’s energy facilities show the complete lack of respect for any obligations related to the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine by the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said in a statement.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 30, 2025, a Russian Army 2S5 howitzer Giatsint-S fires towards Ukrainian positions in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

A Ukrainian military boat CB90 of Military Naval Forces patrols Black Sea coast line of Odesa region, Ukraine, on March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, March 30, 2025, a Russian Army 2S5 howitzer Giatsint-S fires towards Ukrainian positions in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)