Haskell Free Library

You can find a book in Vermont [1] and check it out in Quebec at the Haskell Free Library (93 Caswell Ave., Derby Line, 802/873-3022, www.haskellopera.org [2], 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tues.–Wed.; 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Thurs.; 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Fri.–Sat., $2 suggested donation), the only cultural institution in the world that sits astride an international border. (Look for the thin, black line that runs down the middle of the reading room, separating the United States from Canada.)

Built in 1901 for use by citizens of both countries, the Haskell Free Library was gut-rehabbed a few years ago to revive musical performances in the Opera House upstairs. The turreted neoclassical building is unique in having a first floor of granite capped with a second story of yellow brick.