A Manatee County library card is your key to a free visit to the South Florida Museum

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story published on Bradenton.com included incorrect details about the program. It has been corrected.

Brush off that library card.

Manatee County Libraries are offering a special deal for card holders in good standing in honor of Library Card Sign-up Month.

Card holders are now entitled to borrow passes for a free visit to the South Florida Museum in Bradenton.

Each branch of the Manatee County Public Library has one set of the passes, which can be borrowed like a book or a movie. The passes allow a group of up to four people to visit the museum free of charge.

“We hope this is the start of a program where our customers can gain access to many more cultural and entertainment points of interest throughout our beautiful county that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend,” said Glenda Lammers with Manatee Libraries in a press release.

The pass program is sponsored by South Florida Museum.

South Florida Museum is home to exhibits exploring Florida’s history, a planetarium and an aquarium. The museum recently unveiled a new app that allows users to take self-guided tours that connect exhibits to tell stories about the state’s past.

The museum passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

There will be a waiting list for each library’s passes.

Library cards come with a lot of other perks, too.

In addition to books, the Manatee Library System loans out e-books, audio recordings, streaming music and movies, educational tools, literacy kits, and even fishing poles and telescopes.

To find out more about the offer or how to sign up for a library card, call your local library branch:

▪ Downtown Central: 941-748-5555

▪ Braden River: 941-727-6079

▪ Island: 941-778-6341

▪ Palmetto: 941-722-3333

▪ Rocky Bluff: 941-723-4821

▪ South Manatee: 941-755-3892

This story was originally published September 5, 2018 at 2:11 PM.