Manhasset library expands free museum passes program

Amelia Camurati
(Photo courtesy of Old Westbury Gardens)

A popular program at the Manhasset Public Library has expanded, offering more patrons the chance to visit Long Island museums for free.

Manhasset librarian Sharon Rappaport said the free museum pass program, which was expanded Aug. 1, now includes more passes for each of 13 museums, including reservation-free grab and go passes and print on demand passes.

(Photo courtesy of Sands Point Preserve)

Before this month, Rappaport said, one pass was availabe for each museum through a reservation. They were available for two days at a time for Cold Spring Harbor Fire House Museum, Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, Cradle of Aviation Museum, Garvies Point Museum and Preserve, Heckscher Museum of Art, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, Long Island Children’s Musem, Nassau County Museum of Art, New York Botanical Garden, Old Bethpage Village Restoration, Old Westbury Gardens, Sands Point Preserve Conservancy and Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium.

Now the library will have at least two passes for each museum.

The library has grab and go passes for patrons to pick up whenever the library is open for Cold Spring Harbor Fire House Museum, Garvies Point Museum and Preserve, Long Island Children’s Museum, Nassau County Museum of Art, Old Westbury Gardens and Sands Point Preserve Conservancy.

Rappaport said the library has two passes for those six museums, so one is reservable and one is not.

Marko Remec’s “Would That I Wish For (Tall Totem)” was recently installed just outside the Nassau County Museum of Art’s Arnold and Joan Saltzman Fine Art Building. (Photo by Amelia Camurati)

For the print on demand passes, Rappaport said some museums recently began allowing printed passes instead of physical passes from the library, which allows an unlimited number of users to access passes at all hours.

Both new options help cut down the wait time between passes, Rappaport said.

“The nice thing about that is we have to build buffer days around our pick up and return passes so we make sure they’re back before we reserve them again,” Rappaport said. “With print on demand, they can be used every day the museum is open, which eliminates the buffer days. Also, if the library is closed, like on summer Sundays, and you want to go to the Heckscher Museum of Art, you can print it out and go.”

She said each museum sets its own regulations on how many a pass covers but it usually covers a family’s admission. Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, for example, allows a family of up to six members under one pass.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to explore some of the smaller cultural venues on Long Island that people wouldn’t necessarily go to,” Rappaport said. “We’re hopefully going to increase our offerings for more museums — that’s our next project.”

Reach reporter Amelia Camurati by email at acamurati@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 215, or follow her on Twitter @acamurati.

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