Open Forum

Would you share your museum's policy in regard to giving free admissions to library patrons? Do you limit the number of passes monthly or do you offer a fixed number per year? Do you charge the library a fee? Do you offer a " free family package" or just free individual admissions? We are trying to establish a policy and any advice about best practices would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I feel like I've heard about a program where the library had a museum membership and families could check out the membership card, but I'm totally drawing a blank on the details. But, something like that might work for you!

We participate in this program: Museum Pass | The Seattle Public Library

Not too many people take advantage of it, so it doesn't have a huge effect on us, revenue-wise. And it is a great option for people with limited resources -- especially if they can plan ahead a bit!

Cheers,

Mikala

mik

We've had a partnership with the Fort Worth Library for a number of years.  We currently have 2 passes to at each branch that can be checked out to visit our museum at no charge.  Each pass allows up to four people to visit.  I've attached a prototype of the pass.

Originally the program was grant funded, but we've continued it as an opportunity to allow low-income residents to visit our museum.  We don't advertise it widely, but we do share the information with vulnerable populations who might benefit.  The library spreads the word as well.

Good luck!

Attachment(s)

Read it-Live it pass.pdf   354 KB 1 version

Good Morning,

This had been passed on to me from a fellow colleague and I wanted to share with you what our Museum is currently offering in regards to our Library Membership.  It was started a couple of years ago now.  We charge a Library membership fee of $300.00 and in return the Library gets four adult day passes that their Library Patrons can use.  I have attached a list of the benefits that patrons of the library receive in addition to the benefits that the Library itself receives.  Hope this helps.

Attachment(s)

LIBRARY MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS.docx   13 KB 1 version

Hello, 

We recently agreed to do this type of a program with our library system. 

We don't charge the library anything, they ask how many we are willing to give, so there can be limits. In the first year we didn't limit it - we were curious to see if people actually used them. We generally get about 50-60K visitors a year, of that we got less than 30 library pass entrants in the first year. 

Happy to answer any other questions.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art offers family guest passes that are checked out through the Eugene Public Library and associated branches. They are designed to fit in a DVD case. You can find it in their online catalog:

Downtown Library

We also provide a family guest pass to every child that participates in the library's summer reading program.

Debbie

Word of caution: sometimes a great program like this - can be abused by people you didn't intend on serving!  Norman Rockwell Museum has had a library pass program that was so successful, it began eroding our attendance revenue. 

Quick summary of the evolution of our library pass program:

In existence for 7+ years:

Designed to offer free admission to people who might not otherwise afford museum admission.

Library membership started at $150, after a couple years of increasing demand, we increased to $250.

Pass permitted entry for max of 2 adults/2 children. Hard pass accepted only, no copies.

- issues:

- as it caught on, people were sharing this "secret way to get free admission" to tourists

- became frequently used by second-homeowners

- some libraries were promoting "get a membership- visit museums for free"

- libraries even as distant as 1-2 hours, were purchasing the memberships

- we were seeing as many as 6000 visitors annually on the passes (annual total = 130k)

-solution:

- talked with colleagues at regional institutions and learned of a successful program with less impact to revenue

- change pass to offer $10 admission, (regular adult admission is $18), and membership fee kept at $125

- caused some uproar with a few libraries, but overall well-received.

-currently exploring "Museums for All" program to provide access for lower income audiences.

Similar to the programs several others have described, we have offered 2 passes good for up to 4 people to each of the branches of Anne Arundel County's public libraries. They are a good size and also fit in a DVD box, as someone else mentioned. We track which branch they get checked out from, and I believe there is often a waiting list. We don't charge the libraries to participate. We also don't particularly promote the program, but it has been fairly popular and helps ensure our status as a community based museum. However, they are not so popular that they do much in the way of eating into revenue (i.e. 243 people have taken advantage of the program so far this year).

We are looking to expand the program to all of AAC's parks as well (note: while we are a 501c3 nonprofit, we have an operating agreement with AAC's Recreation and Parks, who own the land/buildings, etc).

As the main development person, I also like the program because it's good to promote to donors, members and grantors as an example of enabling community access.

I hope this is helpful! Glad to see so many other museums participating in a similar program or developing what works best for them and their communities.

Warm wishes,

Lauren

The Georgia Public Library System has a Family Pass program with several institutions across the state (Zoo Atlanta, the Center for Puppetry Arts, etc.) The details vary based on the needs and abilities of the individual partner organizations, but the basic gist of it is that anyone who has a valid GA PLS library card can go into their local library and check out a family pass to one of the participating organizations. There are only so many physical, laminated passes statewide (usually about 1 per 30,000 people served by a given branch), and they're usually good for admission for a family of four. The passes are checked out and returned just like a book, and participating organizations have the option to limit redemption to once per family per quarter/year/whatever time period seems appropriate. We don't charge the library a fee for these passes, and they provide ample opportunities to their partners for advertising -- small ads on their search engine, giving out posters and bookmarks that advertise the museum or zoo's specific program, etc.  

As I understand it, the program has been a great success here! The Carlos Museum is embarking on our own program with the Georgia library system, so I'm happy to answer more detailed questions as I can. We're considering this an access program to help us reach out to communities that might not otherwise make the journey to a university campus, and we're not substantially concerned at this point that it might impact our overall admissions revenue.

GPLS partnership programs surpass $10 million in value