A visitor enters his local branch of the Ottawa Public Library (OPL), and makes his way towards the public computers. They are probably on top of a stand next to a pillar, so he cannot sit down, but he clicks on the homepage and then types something in the search bar in the top right.

What do you imagine he searches?

If you were gambling, the answer with the best odds would be ‘museum pass’. Over 30,000 searches for ‘museum pass’ or ‘museum passes’ were made over a period of time ranging from January 2015 to February 2016, according to data released by the Ottawa Public Library to Ottawa’s open data website.

Other entries in the top ten include ‘harry potter’, ‘game of thrones’, ‘dvd’ and ‘star wars’. But ‘museum pass’ tops them all, and ‘Museum pass’ places fourth before grouping together similar entries.

Data retrieved from Ottawa’s open data website.

“People really do clamour for them,” said Ann Archer, the Content Services Manager for the OPL.

Museum access passes are available at Ottawa libraries as part of partnerships between the OPL and a number of different museums in Ottawa. They are stocked in every branch and provide free access to their corresponding museum or museums for two adults and three children. The passes are on a seven-day loan period.

They were introduced to the OPL in 2004, according to Archer. At first, people could place holds and pick the passes up after they became available. The problem was that happened rarely.

“How we originally did it was they were in our regular collection…but within a few years we quickly realized we couldn’t sustain all the requests that were on them,” said Archer.

Now, they are part of the library’s express system. That means that no holds can be placed on the items – the person who gets the pass is the person who gets it off the shelf, even if somebody else called beforehand.

“We’ve decided that you have to be there in person to pick it up. You just have to make a decision on that sort of thing,” said Archer when asked if something like an hour hold system could be implemented.

But the OPL recognizes how popular the service is. 2013 through 2015 saw about 20,000 passes circulated each year according to Archer. While Archer noted feedback is quite positive, there have been suggestions that the seven-day loan period be reduced to a three-day loan period. This would greatly affect the availability of passes and is something the OPL is currently contemplating, said Archer.

Something that is unlikely to change is the number of passes given to the OPL by the museums said Archer when asked about a potential increase in demand during Ottawa’s 150th anniversary.

“The museums are conscious that this is a great partnership but we cannot sustain giving more…and our chances of negotiating to get more are fairly unlikely; they’re hoping for some good revenue from ticket sales,” said Archer, laughing.

Still, for Archer the partnership with the museums and the popularity of museum passes is something fantastic. On her right hand she wears a black wristband with the words “Be forever curious” inscribed, and people visiting libraries and museums means curiosity is alive.

The museums themselves see the passes as a way to ensure everybody can get into the museum, even families who feel it may be difficult to cover the admission price.

“It’s worked pretty well as a way to offer people access. We try to offer some means of free access to folks; we don’t want to have anyone excluded,” said John Swettenham, Director, Marketing and Media Relations at Canadian Museum of Nature.

Along with partnering with the OPL, museums like the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Canadian Museum of History partner with library systems in other municipalities around Ottawa.

A list of OPL branch locations. Location data retrieved from Ottawa’s open data website.