Author Archive: Aviva Bechky

A black line on the floor inside the Haskell Library indicates the border between the US and Canada. Above the line, a small US flag on the left and Canadian flag on the right sit side-by-side on a bookshelf.

Feds Curb Canadian Access to Library on the Border

By | April 14, 2025

US Rep. Natalie M. Blais (D-Mass.), who grew up in nearby Derby Line, Vermont, calls the library her “entryway to other worlds growing up in a really small town.” The line on the floor delineating the border, she says, never seemed particularly important. “It just wasn’t something that we paid attention to,” Blais says. “Being … Continue reading Feds Curb Canadian Access to Library on the Border →

Doreen Horstin, manager of San Fran­cisco Public Library’s Park branch, adds a book to the Read to Recovery shelves, which provide free addiction recovery materials to patrons.

No Questions Asked

By | January 2, 2025

Then, without checking out these titles, these patrons leave. They may mark up the books they take. They won’t return the materials. And, according to Doreen Horstin, manager of San Francisco Public Library’s (SFPL) Park branch, this is just fine. These patrons are participants in Read to Recovery, an SFPL program that has been providing … Continue reading No Questions Asked →