Talk to me about Toy Libraries

I joined my local Toy Library and went for the first time on the weekend. It was GREAT! Good toys, nothing fancy and plenty to choose from. There were so many people there - I would have seen at least 15 families in the 15 minutes I was there.

A friend is setting up a Toy Library in her local area (Moonee Valley if you want more info then PM me) and I was curious as to the different conditions for Toy Libraries. I know some are free, some have memberships, restrictions on the number of toys etc.

Maribyrnong Toy Library is $60 per year plus 2 x 2 hour shifts volunteering. You can pay an extra $50 to get out of the volunteering part. You can borrow up to 4 toys including 1 big one (like a ride on car) for 2 weeks.

Are you in a Toy Library? Do you find it worthwhile? What are the conditions of your membership?

Cheers,
Fiona

Yes, I have been in the City of Melbourne Toy Library (just up the road from you in Kensington) for about 5 years now. I love it! We get the toys for 2 weeks and you can take a big toy and a game/puzzle per child. The cost is $50 for one child and $75 for 2 per year. You need to do 3 shifts of 2 hours per year or pay a $75 levy to get out of it.

Over the Christmas shutdown period you can book a large toy to borrow for $5 per item which helps with fundraising. There is a volunteer commitee and they do fundraising throughout the year as well. There is money given by the city council but most of the funds come from membership, fundraising and the place is run by volunteers.

We had to pay a joining fee as well as a yearly membership fee, I think together it was $60 - $70. We had to do 2 hour duty twice a term, no additional payment to avoid it. There was 1 or 2 compulsary days through the year like stocktake or toy sales.

We could borrow a big toy like a car or kitchen as well as 3 smaller toys for 2 weeks. I went all last year but gave it away this year. I always had to take Moo with me which was difficult. Plus there were 4 or 5 parents on but only 2 computers so half us stood around doing nothing. Could think of better ways to spend my Saturdays :D

Just remembered we also had to pay a fine for late returns or if we lost a piece of a toy (even if you brought it back). There was also a party pack we hired that had heaps of stuff in it, was a big hit at Mo's birthday party! Contained a slide, roller coasters, table & chairs, cars, climbing frame & see saws

I think Toy Libraries are very valuable & can be great places to be a part of. I just think mine wasn't very well organised unfortunately. I might pick it up again when Moo is older.

we have an excellent toy library. Membership is *usually* $60 pa but they had a special for $30 when we joined.

You get 7 toys per fortnight including 3 'big' items like cars/bikes/acitvity centres/play bbqs/slippery dips/ climbing frames/foam climbing mats etc etc You pay $3.30 per big item as an insurance against damage.

there's no volunteer requirement and it's run in the same building as the playgroup assoc, so is very well used by a huge cross section of the community.

Ours has heaps of toys, a special needs area, books with the 'characters' included and a play area where you can just bring the kids, they can play with the toys and you can have a cuppa for a gold coin donation!

we love our toy library :)

Ours is $12 per year with no requirement for helping out. It's on fortnightly and you borrow for a fortnight, or 4 weeks if you live a bit further away (like we do). Only open during term time, so if you borrow before the holidays you get it for the whole holidays. They take reservations for the summer holidays for the popular toys. We have quite a big range of things, it's run by the local Anglican church so I'm not sure what extra funding they do receive. As far as I know there are no restrictions on the number of toys you can borrow at a time, but we've never taken more than 2 or 3 anyway.

Always thought they were great ideas never got myself organised to go on days opened (i know one in west footscray)