May 6, 2010 - Looking for Adventure?

[This week is yet another wonderful guest column, this one by one of our "behind the scenes" librarians making great things happen for our patrons.]

Looking for Adventure? - Deb Margeson

Who doesn’t want a little adventure in their lives? Especially if it’s free.

But, before I get to the adventure part, I should introduce myself. I am Deb Margeson, a Collection Development Librarian here at Douglas County Libraries. I know that I have the best job possible here at our library district.

I have the opportunity to choose all the adult fiction and nonfiction books for our branches (and no, if you are wondering, I don’t get to read them before I decide to buy them…). But don’t tell anyone else that I have the best job here; they might get ideas…

Something you don’t have to keep secret is what I’m about to share. You already know that DCL provides books, magazines, music, books on CD, Playaways, and DVD’s. And you probably also know that you can download audio books and eBooks to your various devices. Well, starting May 1, you get to check out some Adventure. And, like all those other items that we provide, there’s no charge.

The idea came from one of our librarians, who had heard that another local library district had museum passes available for checkout. She brought it to our Collection Development Committee to consider and we liked the idea.

Several of us got together and did some research. Librarians are great at sharing ideas and information with other librarians and Jefferson County Libraries shared their experience with checking out passes to local museums. They use a simple system that sounded like an easy way to provide an opportunity to check out a free pass to local attractions to all of you. We are calling it the Adventure Pass.

Starting May 1, Douglas County Libraries card holders can check out a free pass to the Wildlife Experience here in Douglas County. I imagine you have heard of them and maybe you have even visited.

The Wildlife Experience is a museum that connects people with wildlife and habitats. The people at the Wildlife Experience are great to work with and provided us with discounted passes to their museum. They are enthusiastic and excited about providing an easy way to allow you to get to visit all the experiences that they provide.

This is how it’s going to work. First visit our website (www.DouglasCountyLibraries.org) and look for the Adventure Pass icon. Click on that icon and you will be taken to the reservation system.

Take a look at the calendar and pick a date that works for you. It will show you if a pass is available. We have 6 passes available per day. Each pass allows 6 people free admission to the Wildlife Experience.

You can reserve a pass up to 30 days ahead of your visit. Once you choose your date and enter the required information, just print out your pass.

Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? Here’s the fine print. You do need to have a library card with us. But hey, we provide those for free too.

We are starting with just one local place to have an adventure. We want to work out any little kinks that sometimes happen when you embark on a new program.

But, if you have an "in" with another local attraction or museum and would like to take part in this program, get in touch with us. We want to expand because there are so many interesting places to visit in our area. And we want to provide you with an easy way to explore some of these.

If you still have questions, the knowledgeable folks at our Contact Center can be reached at 303-791-7323.

Starting May 1st gather up your family, friends and neighbors and get your Adventure Pass at Douglas County Libraries. And please don’t keep this a secret!