By Danielle Galvin
The beginnings of this local Boroondara gem aren’t entirely known.
The Canterbury Toy Library is located next to Canterbury Gardens and is operated out of a beautiful old period building that was originally home to the Canterbury public library.
“It has been operating since at least 1983 so coming up to 38 years of operation this year,” President Helen Dudley explained.
“Unfortunately we don’t have complete records but from what I can tell things have changed a lot since the beginning.
“Many toy libraries begin with a group of parents wanting to share toys, they would often be completely volunteer run. We’ve heard from past committee members who borrowed from the toy library as children that it was originally run from the garage of a local committee member before it moved into the beautiful building we share today.
“In the past the toy library has had large committees made up of local parents working together to provide a service for the local community unfortunately the days of large volunteer committees have slowly changed and we operate at the moment with a small group that work together on the future direction of the toy library and all of the day to day operations.”
These days, like many community organisations and venues, it’s changed significantly.
“We have a small membership of around 60 members which makes it a great place to meet new people local to the area,” Ms Dudley said.
“These days we are also very lucky to have a paid staff member that keeps the toy library running each session and the support of Boroondara council and many others that provide grant funding so we can continue building our collection of high quality toys for all to share and borrow.”
After 2020, like many local groups and organisations, the committee had to change the way they’d always run it in line with restrictions, and had to close during the shutdowns.
“We operated a click and collect service so members were able to reserve toys for the first time and we had a committee volunteer at the toy library at one stage disinfecting each toy that was returned by hand which you can imagine was a mammoth task,” she said.
“Thankfully this year we are almost back to operating as usual with a few ongoing restrictions in place it is much more manageable.
“I think some of the benefits during the COVID era were being able to return and borrow new entertainment options from puzzles and board games to active play toys that can be used inside or in the backyard.
“We have just recently purchased a new range of board games and active play toys that are being enjoyed by families at the moment, it can be a lovely weekend activity choosing a new board game to play together.”
Last year, they were thankful to receive their first grant funding in recent years from the Bendigo Bank, Maling Road and City of Boroondara.
“We are very grateful for their support that allowed us to rejuvenate our collection during a difficult year which gave families and children something to look forward to borrowing the new toys when restrictions allowed during lockdown,” Ms Dudley said.
Next year, the toy library will be moving to a new purpose built space in the Canterbury Hub, which will mean they will be able to open on weekdays, too.
For Ms Dudley, it can be hard to put into words how truly wonderful the toy library has been for local families.
“For children I think it brings a world of choice, a space where parents can say yes and kids can choose to borrow based on their current interests – from space to dinosaurs, play cafes, trains, scooters they can explore something new each week if they choose or borrow different versions of old favourites.
“For parents it’s a lovely welcoming service where you can meet others in the same stage of life, save space in your home and getting involved in the running of the toy library can be a great way of meeting new friends that live in the same area.”
To find out more, visit https://www.canterburytoylibrary.com.au/
