We present a static, model-independent, experimental determination of the spin-spin correlation length $\ensuremath{\xi}$ in a quantum spin system. This is achieved in the doped Haldane (i.e.,
S=1 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic) chain ${\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{BaNi}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Mg}}_{x}{\mathrm{O}}_{5}$ by
89Y NMR imaging of the staggered magnetization induced around the Mg impurities (i.e., chain boundaries) by a magnetic field. The magnitude of this magnetization is found to decay exponentially, with $\ensuremath{\xi}$ equal to the theoretical prediction for an infinite
S=1 chain and the staggered magnetic moment at the edge site showing the Curie behavior of an effective
S=1/2 spin.
The response of an open spin chain with isotropic antiferromagnetic interactions to a uniform magnetic field is studied by classical Monte Carlo simulations. It is observed how the induced on-site magnetization is nonuniform, due to the occurrence of edge staggered terms which decay exponentially over a distance equal to the zero-field correlation length of the infinite chain. The total magnetic moment associated to each staggered term is found to be about half of the original single-spin magnitude and to decrease as the inverse of temperature (i.e., to behave as a Curie-like moment). The numerical results are compared to recent NMR findings in spinless-doped
Y2BaNiO5; the remarkable agreement found shows that, for temperatures above the Haldane gap, the classical approach gives a correct picture of the boundary effects observed in the Heisenberg
S=1 chain.