Library offers passes to the picture show
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FAIRMONT -- People can now see a free flick at Fairmont 5 Theatres by checking out the new movie passes at the Martin County Library in Fairmont.
"It's really exciting. We think that everybody does better when everybody does better, so it's nice to be able to partner with local businesses and local things," said Martin County Library Branch Outreach Librarian Kacey Wurster.
There are four laminated movie passes on a lanyard that can be redeemed by anyone with a library card. The Martin County Library staff will print a receipt at check-out, and individuals can present the movie pass and receipt to the Fairmont 5 Theatres staff to redeem one free movie showing.
The movie pass offerings started just this week. Martin County Library Director Jenny Trushenski reported that since the announcement of the movie passes, the community has responded excellently. Wurster shared that within three hours of rolling out the movie passes, an individual checked out and redeemed one.
The movie passes are not the only passes that the Martin County Library offers. It does and has offered Minnesota State Park passes, swimming pool passes, Fairmont Area Community Theater passes and more. Following its own tour, the Martin County Library additionally encourages the community to visit the Martin County Historical Society, which offers free admission. The movie pass is the newest addition to these offerings.
With many in the community drawn to the movie theater, the Martin County Library asked Fairmont 5 Theatres if it would be interested in collaborating on an offering. Fairmont 5 Theatres was on board and offered an abundance of options.
"I said, 'We have people interested in this, we've seen other libraries offer things like this, would you be interested in offering something too?' He gave us a handful of options of what they'd be willing to do, which was a much more extensive list than I thought would be available to us. So, we landed on tickets. The tickets to check out and at a discounted rate to us," Wurster recounted.
"We think it's good to incorporate more people into the happenings, the town happenings, you know?" said Martin County Library Assistant Director Claire McGinty-Duffey.
“The Fairmont 5 Theatres is excited to partner with the library to give another opportunity for people to have the experience of going to the movie theater, and another reason for people to go to their local library, which is a fantastic resource, especially in a town like this, and is a good thing to be utilizing,” said Fairmont 5 Theatres Manager Tim Jertson.
Wurster said that even though the movie theater includes a screen, the offering coincides with the Martin County Library's current 2026 Community Reads program and screen-free movement to tackle unhealthy overuse of social media and technology.
"It's also an experience that you get to have with your family, with the people there," Wurster said.
"With the local community," Trushenski added.
The Martin County Library is pleased to see individuals using the movie passes and looks forward to continuing to see the community involved with its numerous offerings.
"We always like it when people use the library. To have people who use the library, who are regular patrons, and to also have people who don't have a library card, be excited to come in and check out the movie passes is great because once you come in, there are lots more things you can do with your library card," Wurster said.
"I think a big push for us lately has been for people to realize that the library is more than books. We have our great books, these passes, board games, puzzles, musical instruments, office equipment, toys for kids. We have a lot of grandparents in our community, so we have grandparents-centric toys. It's just one more part of our repertoire that the library is an exciting place." McGinty-Duffey explained.
The Martin County Library's overall goal is to help expand the community's definition of literacy.
"There can be community literacy, digital literacy, environmental literacy, and all sorts of literacies beyond just books. We're seeing it as a nation and as a globe. Reading rates are declining. And so, what can we do to promote different forms of literacy? If we can expand our notion of what is literacy, then maybe we can pair that with traditional literacies," McGinty-Duffey said.
"This is a great way to bring you in to help realize there's a lot," Trushenski said.
The movie passes are first come, first served. Individuals must be present to check out movie passes. Individuals can check out two movie passes to redeem for two people. Movie passes can be picked up during open hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, at the Martin County Library located at 110 North Park Street in Fairmont. For additional information, contact the Martin County Library at (507) 238-4207 or visit martincountylibrary.org.