Public Library's experience passes offer tickets to places otherwise inaccessible

Lindsay Helmes’ favorite part of loaning out experience passes is the stories patrons come back with.

“My favorite aspect is hearing stories and seeing pictures from patrons when they return the passes, whether it's a family taking their kids to Tanganyika or Exploration Place for the first time, or adults enjoying a day out at Botanica that they might not have otherwise planned,” Helmes, the marketing director at the McPherson Public Library, said.

The passes Helmes is referring to? The library’s experience passes. Housed in the Library of Things, the passes are meant to provide experiences that families may not otherwise be able to afford.

“Many libraries across the country began offering experience passes to help break down financial barriers for local families so that their communities could have free access to wonderful attractions,” Helmes said.

With the experience passes, patrons can visit several places near McPherson. The places people can visit include the Cosmosphere, Botanica, Exploration Place, Tanganyika Wildlife Park, Wichita Art Museum, and McPherson College football, volleyball and basketball.

To check out an experience pass, patrons must meet certain criteria. Most passes can be checked out for a week and carry a $1 fee for each day they’re late, according to McKenzie Murphy, the director of the McPherson Public Library.

“They can check them out or get on a hold list. Then, to check them out, you have to be 18 years old, you have to be in good standing, so you don't have 20 dollars in fines, and you have to have had your library card for three months,” Murphy said.

But there are a limited number of passes, so patrons can get on a waiting list for certain attractions — Tanganyika Wildlife Park, for example — and the list is usually long.

“Tanganyika, for example: we only had two passes this summer; we had four last summer . . . I think there’s still over a hundred people on hold for it because we couldn’t get through everyone this summer,” Murphy said.

The idea of the experience passes came from the library staff roughly 3 years ago and has been growing ever since. Many of the places patrons can visit with the passes might not have been accessible before because of cost.

“I think it's just an opportunity to go places that you maybe wouldn’t go to as a family, especially because some of these passes are built for two adults, four kids, and Tanganyika for my family would be 300 dollars if we went; with a Tanganyika pass, it’s completely free,” Murphy said.

The experience passes and the Library of Things are constantly evolving and changing as time goes on to improve the program.

“We are always brainstorming new ideas to continue to expand our Library of Things and what our community can check out at their local library,” Helmes said.

For more information, people can visit the McPherson Public Library information desk or go to their website.

This article was made possible by the Citizen Journal Foundation, which aims to make public interest reporting accessible to all.

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