Monticello library offers Adventure Pass Program

     There is a new, free service available at the Monticello Public Library.

     The library is now offering the Adventure Pass Program, a service that allows library patrons the opportunity to checkout area museum and zoo passes. The best part… It’s free!

     “This service really fits with our mission,” said Library Director Michelle Turnis.

     The library’s mission is to “provide avenues to encourage life-long learning and intellectual freedom through literacy and technology.”

     The Adventure Pass Program is “an additional outlet through which the library can build on serving as a center of education, recreation, information, and culture.”

     Under this program, the Monticello library purchased several passes and memberships to selected area museums and zoos. A limited number of passes are made available to eligible patrons. This allows patrons admission to various museums and zoos free of charge.

     Turnis said she first heard about the idea through a statewide library forum.

     “Another library was doing it,” she said.

     A new software program was required in order to allow patrons to electronically “checkout” the passes. Turnis said the more libraries that joined the program, the cheaper the software.

     While the selection of participating museums and zoos will be reviewed periodically, those the Monticello library is currently offering passes for include:

     Quad Cities Fun Bundle:

     • Figge Art Museum in Davenport

     • Putnam Museum in Davenport

     • Quad Cities Botanical Gardens in Rock Island, Ill.

     • Niabi Zoo in Caol Valley, Ill.

     Additional passes to:

     • Grout Museum District in Waterloo, which includes the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum, Grout Museum of Science & History (including the planetarium), Bluedorn Science Imaginarium, and Renaaealer Russell House Museum)

     • Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines

     There are certain eligibility requirements for those checking out the passes. Patrons must be 18 years or older and a resident of Jones County with a good-standing library card to the Monticello Public Library. This means fines/fees are less than $5, with no outstanding accounts.

     The admission requirement on each pass varies. The Quad Cities Fun Bundle is good for two adults and up to four children (18 and under) who reside in the same household. The Grout Museum District pass is good for two adults and two children. The Des Moines zoo pass is good for two adults and two children. Patrons are responsible for purchasing additional passes for admission not covered by the library pass. All passes will have to be printed out before admission to the museum/zoo. This can be done at home or at the library.

     The patron who “checked out” the pass will be required to show a photo ID at the museum or zoo upon entrance. Turnis said this is to verify that the person who checked out the pass is the one actually using it.

     The Adventure Pass Program kicks off May 1, just in time for planning those summer family trips away.

     Passes can be checked out once every 365 days, and can be borrowed for Tuesday through Thursday or Friday through Monday. They can be reserved up to 90 days prior to use.

     “The multi-day use is helpful because people may not make it through the zoo or a museum all in one day,” explained Turnis. “They can go every day that the pass is good for.” After the timeframe specified, the passes are no longer valid.

     All reservations for the pass program are done online through the library’s website, www.monticello.lib.ia.us. You will be asked to enter your library card number, which can be found on the back of your library card.

     This service to library patrons was made possible through funding and donations to the Monticello library.

     “We wanted to help expose people to what’s available around Iowa,” said Turnis. Stay-cations are becoming more and more popular, and people and families can plan an exciting, fun-filled vacation right here in Iowa.

     For more information or with questions, contact the Monticello library at 319-465-3354.