U.S. forces library on Vermont-Québec border to build new Canadian entrance

The Haskell Free Library & Opera House, a century-old beloved geographic oddity straddling the dividing line between the U.S. state of Vermont and the Canadian province of Québec has had longstanding rules about how to enter the cross-border building.

Now, under the new Trump administration, the library has been told by U.S. border officials that it must change the way library patrons coming from the Canadian side enter the facility.

On its website, the Haskell Free Library said that all Canadian patrons must show their library card to cross into the United States to enter from the library’s main entrance.

There is an entrance to the building from the Canadian side, but according to CBC News, this entrance is an emergency exit and is not currently accessible to those with disabilities.

Over 140,000 Canadian dollars ($97,000) has since been raised through an online fundraiser with over 2,000 donations to renovate the Canadian entrance.

The GoFundMe page called the move by the U.S. government a “unilateral decision to shut down the primary Canadian access point to this world-renowned, one-of-a-kind heritage landmark,” and that the library is a “powerful symbol of unity and cross-border friendship.”

The funds will be used to create a parking lot and ramps for those with mobility issues and to craft a “proper building entrance” on the Canadian side, according to the fundraiser.