Library members can visit museums for free

Along with books, CDs and videos, there’s another item Montrealers can now take out from their local libraries: a free day at the museum.

Starting Tuesday, Montreal’s 45 libraries and the Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (BanQ) are offering the service “Borrow a Museum” that allows members to borrow a pass for two to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts or the Centre d’histoire de Montréal.

The pass allows users to visit the museum of their choice as many times as they like for three weeks, before they must return the pass to the library.

The passes can be reserved online, and then picked up at the library itself. Ticket prices to the museums normally range between $6 and $15 per adult.

The Grande Bibliotheque in downtown Montreal will have 100 passes in stock (50 for each museum) while Montreal’s other 45 libraries will have 20 passes each. If there are no passes immediately available, members can reserve them. Fees for late returns will be the same as those charged for overdue books.

“It is part of our overall mission of expanding access to culture through the milieu of libraries,” said Claire-Hélène Lengellé, spokesperson for the BanQ, who added the city is hoping to enlarge the offerings to include other museums in the future.

In addition to museum passes, some libraries also lend musical instruments, and the system’s online services offer classic films, downloadable books, music, language classes, educational television programming, newspapers, magazines and many other services.

If you’re already a member, passes can be reserved on the BanQ website or in person at your local library. If you’re not a member, membership is free for citizens of the 19 boroughs of Montreal, and can be obtained at the library.