Visit Zoo Atlanta for free with a Fulton library card

Zoo Atlanta and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System are teaming up to make it easier to see and read about pandas, snakes and naked mole rats.

In a first for a cultural institution in Atlanta, the two organizations will announce today a new program that allows Fulton County residents with a library card to visit the zoo once a year for free.

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Elissa Eubanks/AJC

Giant panda Mei Lan celebrated her second birthday Sept. 6 at Zoo Atlanta. She is one of the zoo’s most popular animals.

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It’s the latest effort by the zoo to make the attraction more accessible to county residents. The zoo opened its doors for a free day in August for all Fulton County residents as well as those work for Atlanta and Fulton governments.

“We were looking for a partnership that would allow us to build a great presence in the entire community,” Marcus Margerum, vice president of marketing and sales, said about the library partnership. “They have locations across the entire market.”

John Szabo, director of the Atlanta-Fulton libraries, said the deal is a great way to drive zoo fans into the library system to discover its offerings while at the same time broadening the zoo’s audience.

“That is exactly our excitement,” he said. “We are thrilled and ready to run with it.”

In the partnership, residents must visit one of the city’s or county’s 34 libraries and check out a copy of the DVD, “Zoo Atlanta Family Pass.” The video, which runs a little more than 22 minutes, takes viewers through a history of the institution, including the origin of some of the animals, the physical changes at the zoo, and a look at favorites such as revered gorilla Willie B and the arrival of popular pandas Lun Lun and Yang Yang.

Once residents have the video, they have up to seven days — the number of days allowed to check out the DVD — to visit the zoo, using the library receipt for admission, Margerum said.

The partnership also helps the zoo to emphasize its mission of education, Margerum said. The program is similar to one Chicago has created to drive visitors to both its zoo and libraries.

There is one caveat: Each library branch has only one copy of the DVD. If it proves popular, both zoo and library officials will revisit the number of videos stocked.

“I think that would be a nice problem to have,” Szabo said.