Dismay as cross-border library caught in US-Canada feud: ‘We just want to stay open’; The Guardian, April 13, 2025

Leyland Cecco , The Guardian; Dismay as cross-border library caught in US-Canada feud: ‘We just want to stay open’

"For weeks, curious onlookers, outraged supporters and gaggles of media have descended on both Stanstead, Quebec, and Derby Line, Vermont, after US officials announced the main entrance to the library, which sits in Vermont, would soon be cut off to Canadians. They cited drug traffickers and smugglers “exploiting” the accessibility and said the closure meant “we are ending such exploitation by criminals and protecting Americans” without providing evidence...

Under the new rules which go into effect in October, Canadians will need to go through a formal border crossing before entering the library.

The news, met with disbelief from patrons and staff, followed a closely watched visit by the US secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, in March. Touring the library, Noem said “USA number one!” and then hopped over the black tape separating the two countries and said “51st state” when she landed in Canada. She repeated the joke – echoing Donald Trump’s recent fixation on annexing Canada – three times...

Of the thousands of books tucked into the library’s stacks, one author has emerged as a patron favourite: Louise Penny, the bestselling Canadian novelist and creator of the detective Armand Gamache. Her novels are by far the most borrowed and the celebrated writer, whose works have repeatedly topped the New York Times bestseller chart, is also a frequent visitor to the library.

“It’s very hard to not go immediately to the dystopian novels. What’s the first thing a despot or a tyrant does? They target libraries. They target writers. It targets books. Targets anyone who could read and think and become a dissenting voice,” she said. “Nothing good is going to come of this. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.”

The tour for Penny’s forthcoming book Black Wolf, which coincidentally imagines plans to force Canada into becoming the 51st state was due to start at the Kennedy Center in Washington. But a recent decision by Trump to fire the previous board of the Kennedy Center for its support of “woke” programming, and to install himself as board chair, has prompted widespread artistic backlash."