ROCKLAND — Oh, the mighty Rockland library card. No longer does whipping out a card in times of uncertainty limit a patron to reading of solutions in texts, tomes, and tabloids. The power of the card is extending its reach to those unused senses when the act of reading takes over. Now a card holder can step on the crackling leaves, strum the instrument strings, gasp at the paint strokes on the wall, and seek out Haley’s Comet from a bedroom window.

The Friends of Rockland Public Library recently added passes for the Farnsworth Art Museum and Maine state parks to an unexpected collection of check-out items at the library.

Between Oct. 6 and Oct. 14, patrons requested the items 11 times. 

Nonresident cardholders have borrowed the Farnsworth passes five times. This pass, good for three days, allows admittance for two adults and all children and grandchildren younger than 18 to the museum, the Homestead, and the Olson House. Rockland residents already have free access to these sites.

The pass allowing access to state parks has been checked out four times. This pass, also good for three days, admits occupants of a 17-passenger vehicle, or smaller, to day-use facilities of Maine State Parks and Historic Sites.

And, for the three ukuleles entered into distribution (seven more remain stored away) patrons have twice requested the instrument, which is available for a two-week loan by cardholders older than 18. For the beginner ukulele intrigue, library staff will also pull out books about the instrument upon request.

Cardholders can also borrow binoculars, a family pass to the Owls Head Transportation Museum, an Orion StarBlast Telescope, and a “Kill a Watt” energy usage monitor, according to a news release.