Get free Louisiana, New Orleans museum passes at the library | Entertainment/Life

A library card is an invitation to an endless buffet of books, movies, magazines, online-learning assets, legal forms, health information, oral histories, maps, old newspapers and more.

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, a promotion by the American Library Association. In addition to all the free learning and entertainment a library card unlocks, there’s a pathway at your local branch — almost everywhere you might be in Louisiana — to free admission at some of the state’s best museums.

The opportunity represents a potential savings ranging into the hundreds of dollars.

• In Orleans Parish, the New Orleans Public Library’s Culture Pass program has a roster of more than a dozen museums and attractions, including French Quarter house museums, the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans and the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience. Other available attractions are the Aquarium of the Americas, the Audubon Zoo and the New Orleans Museum of Art, plus many smaller venues. Music lovers can even get a pass to a performance of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Visit nolalibrary.libcal.com/passes.

• Experience Pass, a similar program at the Jefferson Parish Public Library, features a more limited partner roster which nonetheless includes The National WWII Museum, the New Orleans Museum of Art and guided tours at the otherwise free Historic New Orleans Collection.

• The state’s Check Out Louisiana program has recently expanded from state parks to museums. Library cardholders in nearly 20 parishes can get a free one-day pass at more than a dozen museums, including Louisiana State Museum outlets such as the Cabildo, Presbytère and 1850 House in New Orleans, the stellar Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge and the Wedell-Williams Aviation & Cypress Sawmill Museum awaiting your discovery in Patterson.

‘A lot of usage’

“We do see a lot of usage” of the Culture Pass, said Heather Riley, the New Orleans library’s director of public services. “This year alone we’ve had over 10,000 bookings.

“Part of the mission of New Orleans Public Library is to transform lives, enrich our neighborhoods, and preserve our history. And so we want everybody to be enjoying the amazing organizations that we have in town, and I know these amazing organizations want that, too.”

Riley said her own recent first experience with the Pontchartrain Conservancy’s New Canal Lighthouse Museum is a good illustration of the Culture Pass’ utility.

In addition to the history and role of the structure itself (located at 8001 Lakeshore Drive), the museum teaches visitors about the history of the West End and lakefront as well as the multiple lines of protection that address the water that surrounds the city.

“It’s amazing,” Riley said. “We have so many amazing things in the city you don’t even know about. And so, we’re hoping that this can also help promote some of these really, really, really cool things that are (about) our history and our current reality.”

The ultimate influencers

The Check Out Louisiana program for museums benefits residents by educating them about the history and culture in their midst, but also deputizes them as ambassadors who influence visitors to the state.

“Our best ambassadors are Louisianans, whether it’s here or when they travel out of town,” said Billy Nungesser, who oversees the State Museum system as lieutenant governor. “We talk to everybody. My wife tells me when I’m walking down the streets in New York, ‘Quit telling everybody hello. They’re ignoring you.’ But that’s just us.

“Whether it’s here running into somebody in a restaurant or when they travel, saying ‘Hey, you’ve got to go see the Katrina exhibit (at the Presybtère)’” helps spread the word.

“We have 211 beautiful museums in the state,” he added. “This is just the start of a snowball effect to highlight all the museums.”

Further study

Once museumgoers have a library card in-hand to launch their museum explorations, they’ve also got a passport to expand on takeaways from the exhibits they’ve seen.

• Enjoyed “Making It Home: From Vietnam to New Orleans” at the Historic New Orleans Collection? Check out (literally), E.M Tran’s “Daughters of the New Year,” a novel set in the city’s Vietnamese community and the One Book One New Orleans selection for 2025.

• Awed by The National WWII Museum? “Preserving the Legacy: Creating The National WWII Museum” is co-founder Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller’s memoir about how it got built.

• Enchanted/intrigued/puzzled by the sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art? “Where Art Meets Nature: The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden” explores all of the art and profiles the artists who made it.

And, as noted earlier, countless other topics entirely unrelated to museums.

“We don’t keep hard data on it,” Riley said. “But I know for sure (the Culture Pass is) drawing some people in, and that’s a win for us and for our partner institutions.”