If you have checked out our museum passes in the past, you are likely aware that the inability to reserve them ahead of time made it difficult to plan an outing. Starting May 19th, most of our museum passes have gone digital and can be reserved for a single day up to 30 days ahead. This change should streamline use and allow more patrons to use this service.
We still have two physical passes, Empire Pass and FASNY, and nothing will change about how they circulate. They are still available to all UHLS patrons in good standing on a first-come, first-served basis. A physical pass can be checked out for three days and incurs a late fee of $5 per day.
New Passes, New Rules
The new digital passes are only available to patrons with a Colonie resident library card in good standing (not expired, no excessive fines/fees). In most cases, this means the card number begins with a 9. If you are a Colonie resident and your library card does not start with a 9, you can still reserve digital passes, but you will need to go to the Information Desk at the library to make the reservation. Alternatively, you can trade your current library card for a new card starting with a 9 at the library’s Circulation Desk.
Digital passes are valid for a single use on the date printed on the pass. Patrons may be asked to present their library card with their printed pass upon admittance to the museum.
Other information:
- Passes may be reserved up to 30 days in advance
- Patrons may reserve up to two printed passes on a single day
- Passes may be printed at home or at the Colonie Library free of charge
- Passes do not need to be returned and are not subject to fines
Reserve Museum Passes
To reserve a digital pass, grab your library card and visit our Museum Pass page. By default, institutions are listed for selection. If you would prefer to browse availability by date, select “by date” in the subheader:
Only passes that are available on that date will be shown.
Click on a museum to learn more and reserve a pass. If you have not already chosen a date, you will be presented with a calendar showing dates when the pass is available in yellow.
If a pass is available, the calendar shows the day in yellow. If it’s not available, it shows the day in gray. When a striped pattern is displayed, the museum is open, but the library is closed. If you select a striped day, you must print your pass at home or come to the library on a day it is open to have the pass printed.
On the next page, enter your library card number. If you are eligible for a pass, you will receive a success message and an email with a link to print the pass. If you did not enter a valid email, you must go to the Information Desk to have your pass printed.
Print and Use Museum Passes
When you receive the confirmation email, you will see an orange button labeled “Access Pass.”
You must click this link and print the next page. Printing the email will NOT give you museum access. If you cannot print your pass, come to the Information Desk to have it printed for you, free of charge. We will only print passes for patrons when they are being picked up, not via phone ahead of time.
Bring the printed pass and your library card to the museum. You may or may not be asked to show the library card upon admittance. The pass does not need to be returned to the library.
Because of the way the software works, reservations cannot be canceled. If you cannot use the pass on the reserved date, you may not use it on a different date.
Please note that some museums require reservations for tours. This information is listed in the museum details, as well as the benefits of using the pass for museum entry.
Summary
We hope this upgraded pass reservation method for reserving helps to take the stress and guesswork out of enjoying our museum passes. If you have questions about this service, please contact the Information Desk at 518-458-9274, option 4.
