Rules and info for Passports- PATRONS 2026

2026 Passports to CT Libraries  
Guidelines & Contest Rules for patrons: 
 
Visit any participating library to have your passport stamped by a 
library employee and receive a token gift. See the list of participating 
libraries provided to you with your passport or visit 
https://www.facebook.com/passporttoctlibraries. 
 
***Not all libraries in the state are participating; not all participating libraries are giving 
gifts. Please be kind to library staff! 
 
To be eligible to win, you must visit at least five (5) participating 
libraries.Participate in one of two age groups: Adult (18 and up) or 
Child (under 18).  
 
Each age group will have three (3) Visa gift card winners: two (2) 
random drawings (one 25+ libraries visited and one 5+ libraries 
visited) and one (1) "Top Traveler" for the person who visited the most 
participating libraries. A tie for top traveler will be broken by a random 
drawing. 
 
Adult (18 years and up) 
Child (under 18 years old) 
Top Traveler (most participating 
libraries visited & stamped in the 
state) 
Top Traveler (most participating 
libraries visited in the state) 
Random 25 drawing: 25+ 
participating libraries visited & 
stamped 
Random 25 drawing: 25+ 
participating libraries visited & 
stamped 
Random 5 drawing: 5+ participating 
libraries visited & stamped 
Random 5 drawing: 5+ participating 
libraries visited & stamped 
 
Library cards are not necessary to be presented when getting a 
stamp, but you are encouraged to bring yours along AND check out 
items at the visited libraries. Remember, you can always return items 
to your home library or ANY Connecticut public library. 
    
Turn in your finished Passport to any participating library by Monday, 
May 11, 2026. If you finish before then, you can turn it in at any time. 
Participating libraries will determine the winners for their libraries and 
send those on to the state contest.    
The state-wide drawing will be held by Friday, June 12, 2026. Winners 
will be notified by Friday, June 19, 2026 by phone or email. 
Three (3) adult winners (18 and up) will receive a $200 Visa gift card 
and three (3) child winners (under 18) will receive a $200 Visa gift 
card. If you are not notified by June 30, you did not win.  
Winners’ first names and hometown/home library will be posted on the 
CLA Facebook page and library directors of home libraries will also be 
notified they had a winner. 
Thank you for playing! Good luck and have fun! 
 
 
A few facts about CT public libraries 
Of the 169 municipalities in CT; 165 of them have at least ONE public library. 
(Don’t worry, if a town does not have a public library, they contract services 
with another town so that their residents have public library access.) 
 
Your hometown library card is good in any CT public library; you may have to 
register it first. Typically other libraries need the barcode number from the 
back of your card, the card’s expiration date, and your name/other personal 
info. 
 
This year, 171 public library buildings are participating, spread across 137 
cities and towns. This includes branches and main libraries and is UP from 
2024’s program when 153 buildings took part.   
 
Did you know that some towns have two or more separate libraries? 
Branford, Essex, and Groton are all examples of these towns–each library 
operates independent from the others and are NOT branches. 
 
The oldest library in CT is Scoville Memorial in Salisbury. It was also the first 
library in the United States to open to the public free of charge. And yes, it is 
on this year’s list, so go visit! So is the most recently remodeled building: 
Bloomfield Public Library’s Prosser location. (Two years ago, players may 
remember wandering in an old insurance company’s campus when looking 
for the BPL.) Go see their newly updated space, which opened in the fall of 
2025!