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Free Museum Passes
Faced with challenges in an increasingly digital age,
libraries expand their literacy mission to include the arts
libraries expand their literacy mission to include the arts
By Charles Passy * July 16, 2018
A new program being launched Monday by New York City’s three major library systems will give library cardholders free admission to 33 museums and other institutions throughout the five boroughs.
Dubbed Culture Pass, the program is a joint initiative by the Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library and Queens Library. Under the terms, cardholders will be able to visit some of the city’s most high-profile institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Frick Collection, at no cost. Before visiting the institutions, cardholders must reserve their passes online through the Culture Pass website (culturepass.nyc).
The program does limit cardholders to one visit per institution each year, but it allows them to bring one to three additional people, depending on the organization. Given that the standard adult admission to some of the participating institutions can easily top $20, the program can equate to a value in the hundreds of dollars for cardholders.
The institutions aren’t charging the library systems for the program. Funding for operating and marketing Culture Pass, which runs at least $1 million in the program’s initial stage, is provided through private foundations.
Officials with the library systems say one of the main goals of the program is to boost access to the arts for New Yorkers, especially those who might not otherwise easily afford a visit to some of these institutions.
While providing such access might not be seen as a traditional role for libraries, it is all part of a piece, said Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda E. Johnson.
“We have been focusing on how to expand the definition of literacy,” she said. “Being able to read and write is just the tip of the iceberg.”
In any case, libraries in New York City have been challenged to redefine their mission in an increasingly digital era where there is simply less demand for printed books. At the Brooklyn Public Library, annual circulation has declined over the past five years to roughly 14 million items from 17 million, according to Ms. Johnson.
As a result, libraries are offering an ever-widening range of programs.
At the Queens Library’s central branch in Jamaica, World Cup soccer games recently have been screened. Later this month, the branch will offer car-seat safety checks.
“This is part of our mission of being grounded in the community,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott.
Such efforts aren’t limited to New York City. Numerous libraries in New Jersey have programs offering cardholders free admission to arts institutions, said Patricia Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association.
Ms. Tumulty also said New Jersey libraries get creative with other programming. A case in point: Last week, a library in Monroe Township offered a “Touch a Truck” event that let younger patrons get up close with a firetruck, police car and ambulance, among other vehicles.
“It’s just amazing,” Ms. Tumulty said of the event.
Dubbed Culture Pass, the program is a joint initiative by the Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library and Queens Library. Under the terms, cardholders will be able to visit some of the city’s most high-profile institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Frick Collection, at no cost. Before visiting the institutions, cardholders must reserve their passes online through the Culture Pass website (culturepass.nyc).
The program does limit cardholders to one visit per institution each year, but it allows them to bring one to three additional people, depending on the organization. Given that the standard adult admission to some of the participating institutions can easily top $20, the program can equate to a value in the hundreds of dollars for cardholders.
The institutions aren’t charging the library systems for the program. Funding for operating and marketing Culture Pass, which runs at least $1 million in the program’s initial stage, is provided through private foundations.
Officials with the library systems say one of the main goals of the program is to boost access to the arts for New Yorkers, especially those who might not otherwise easily afford a visit to some of these institutions.
While providing such access might not be seen as a traditional role for libraries, it is all part of a piece, said Brooklyn Public Library President and CEO Linda E. Johnson.
“We have been focusing on how to expand the definition of literacy,” she said. “Being able to read and write is just the tip of the iceberg.”
In any case, libraries in New York City have been challenged to redefine their mission in an increasingly digital era where there is simply less demand for printed books. At the Brooklyn Public Library, annual circulation has declined over the past five years to roughly 14 million items from 17 million, according to Ms. Johnson.
As a result, libraries are offering an ever-widening range of programs.
At the Queens Library’s central branch in Jamaica, World Cup soccer games recently have been screened. Later this month, the branch will offer car-seat safety checks.
“This is part of our mission of being grounded in the community,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott.
Such efforts aren’t limited to New York City. Numerous libraries in New Jersey have programs offering cardholders free admission to arts institutions, said Patricia Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association.
Ms. Tumulty also said New Jersey libraries get creative with other programming. A case in point: Last week, a library in Monroe Township offered a “Touch a Truck” event that let younger patrons get up close with a firetruck, police car and ambulance, among other vehicles.
“It’s just amazing,” Ms. Tumulty said of the event.
| # | List of Participating Institutions | # | NYPL |
| 1 | Brooklyn Botanic Garden | 17 | The Morgan Library & Museum |
| 2 | Brooklyn Children’s Museum | 18 | Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1 |
| 3 | Brooklyn Historical Society | 19 | Museum of Chinese in America |
| 4 | Brooklyn Museum | 20 | Museum of Jewish Heritage |
| 5 | Children’s Museum of Manhattan | 21 | Museum of the City of New York |
| 6 | Children’s Museum of the Arts | 22 | New York Transit Museum |
| 7 | Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum | 23 | Noguchi Museum |
| 8 | The Drawing Center | 24 | Queens Historical Society |
| 9 | The Frick Collection | 25 | Queens Museum |
| 10 | Historic Richmond Town | 26 | Rubin Museum of Art |
| 11 | International Center of Photography | 27 | SculptureCenter |
| 12 | Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum | 28 | Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian |
| 13 | Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art | 29 | Society of Illustrators |
| 14 | The Jewish Museum | 30 | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum |
| 15 | Louis Armstrong House | 31 | Sugar Hill Children’s Museum |
| 16 | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | 32 | Wave Hill |
| 33 | Whitney Museum of American Art |
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