Libraries and museums share a vital common link: both are virtual knowledge and learning storehouses. This summer in Hernando County, library patrons can access free admission to an array of area museums—thus doubling their opportunities for education, intellectual growth, and fun!
All Hernando County Public Library card holders can now garner complimentary admission to local museums through the Library Museum Pass Program. HCPLS has partnered with local museums to provide free admission by visiting a local Hernando County Library System branch and checking out a Museum Pass to their favorite museum. Each pass will entitle four people admission to participating museums, which include:
The Florida Holocaust Museum
May-Stringer House
1885 Train Depot
Tampa Bay History Center
Countryman One-Room Schoolhouse
“Libraries and museums are trusted community spaces where people of all ages can pursue their interests, gain expertise, and have meaningful experiences,” said Cindy Loftis-Culp, library services director of the Hernando County Public Library System. “Across the country and around the world, museums and libraries are placing themselves at the center of innovative research and practice about how people create and share knowledge, powered by a combination of digital media and traditional tools.”
Here’s how it works. A patron of at least 18 years of age may check out one museum pass in person using a valid library card in good standing. Passes cannot be put on hold. Each library offers four passes per museum across the county. Passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis; information is available through the Hernando County Public Library System online catalog to indicate which passes are currently available. Passes are not renewable.
Upon checking out a Museum Pass, the patron will be given a check-out receipt, which the patron will then present to the museum upon admission. The museum will keep the receipt. The patron may check out passes for more than one museum but may access only a single pass per museum at a time.
Passes are valid for one visit within a seven-day period. You do not have to return a pass to the library; they are automatically removed from your library account after seven days. Best of all, no overdue fines are assessed on Museum Passes.
“Libraries and museums are trusted and family-friendly attractions that are located all across the country,” said Loftis-Culp. “More than ever, they are becoming an integral part of many communities’ plans to ensure that important early learning experiences are available to all children and their families.”
Loftis-Culp takes pride in the library’s partnership with area museums.
“The library I worked at down south had museum passes, and the patrons loved them,” she said. “When I came back to HCPLS, we had a couple of patrons ask about them as well. That’s when I decided that we should get on board with the passes.”
Loftis-Culp sees an important and lasting partnership between museums and libraries, as both reign in the divine form of valuable and respected community institutions. “While viewed as two separate institutions, libraries and museums share the goal of promoting social wellbeing and maximizing services to the community,” she said. “They not only house repositories of collected knowledge but also seek to educate local communities with the help of selfless professionals who want nothing more than to help patrons find what they’re looking for.”
Contact the library for further information at 352.754.4043 or visit the website at https://hernandocountylibrary.us/
