Said president Rachel Seddon: “It’s a cool job because you get to play with toys all day.”
However, the opening hours are “a little bit odd”.
At the moment, this not-for-profit library only opens twice a week – Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning.
While committee members want to open the library more often, limited funding and grants have stopped them from doing so.
As most of the grants are spent on acquiring new toys, the library is left with little to no money.
This also restricts them from advertising to attract more members.
“We tend to make a little loss every year. We rely on grants, donations, and membership fees to keep us afloat,” Seddon said.
The library will be looking into increasing its hours once there are more members on board.
It used to be the biggest toy library in the country with more than 100 members until a decrease in membership in recent years.
It currently has 62 members, with 32 full members and 28 duty members.
A full membership costs $120 per year, whereas a duty membership costs $40. As duty members pay less fees, they are required to complete four duties during their membership year, including rostering at the library and fundraising.
However, memberships do not cover the additional rental fees ranging from 50 cents to $5, depending on the toys.
Members can borrow up to 10 toys at a time, with a collection of 1000 toys catering from newborn to seven years old.
“While the full membership gives us more money, it also makes the finding of a new librarian more important,” Seddon said.
She joined the library as a duty member in 2018 before getting more involved with the committee a year later.
As a mother of two, Seddon knows how quickly a child can grow out of a toy.
“So the library works very well. And it’s very good for reducing and recycling toys because everyone is sharing toys,” she said.
The memories her two children have made with these toys are what she likes most about volunteering at the library.
Seddon recommended people get involved with a toy library, particularly new mothers or parents.
