By Casey Neill
Canterbury Toy Library’s booming membership has earned it a national award.
The not-for-profit community-run service has been lending high-quality toys to families since 1983.
After relocating to the Canterbury Community Precinct in March 2023 and surging from 70 members to 300 with a waitlist, the library won the Toy Library Excellence: Growth and Innovation award.
It recognised the library’s hard work to keep up with membership demand without compromising member experience.
Toy Libraries Australia national development officer Louise Bell said Canterbury Toy Library was
a leading example of the role toy libraries could play in promoting children’s development and
community connections.
“We’re proud to be recognising Canterbury Toy Library for their dedication to making play accessible for all children and to sharing the benefits of toy libraries in the local community,” she said.
“Toy libraries are an affordable and sustainable way for parents and carers to support a child’s
development, while also creating important community meeting places.
“It’s no surprise that toy libraries across the country are booming as more families turn to borrowing toys to save money, reduce waste, and reconnect with their communities.”
Canterbury Toy Library president Linda Nguyen joined the library two years ago.
“They had such a good amount of toys, a great selection, and I thought it was a great sustainable way to have toys that cater to your child’s different interests,” she said.
“You buy something for your family and they get sick of it very quickly.
“The toy accumulation is real.
“It can get quite costly.”
She said Australian Toy Association and Sustainability Victoria research revealed 51 percent of toys were thrown out as waste within 12 months of purchase.
“Toy libraries can really play a big role in changing this harrowing statistic,” she said.
The stock analyst soon put her hand up for the secretary role before stepping up to president.
“I just felt that because I’m only back at work part-time I thought I should be doing something for me,” she said.
“I really wanted to give back to the community and to a resource I really enjoy and love.
“The goal here is to break even. I’m not used to that. I’m usually in it to make money,” she laughed.
“We’re here just to cater for our community.”
Linda and her team plan to grow the library by another 100 members in the next year.
“With that, we need to apply for more grants to source more toys,” she said.
“Most of our funds come from grants.
“We also take in good quality donations as well, as part of our ethos of sustainability.
“Every five donations we receive is one new family we can bring into the toy library.”
They can’t receive soft toys, and items must be in good condition, have no button batteries, and conform to Australian standards.
“We also have a couple of things that we don’t accept, only because we get a lot of them,” she said.
“When we do the purchasing, we try and buy really good quality toys, usually from brands that use sustainable materials.
“On average our toys last at least five years, which is a great number of borrows.
“Our big bulky items are our most popular.
“Most people can’t afford the space they take up.”
Membership fees cover the necessities, like wages and electricity.
Members can work two two-hour shifts over 12 months or pay extra for a non-volunteer membership.
The library has also introduced a weekday only membership at a reduced price to combat the Saturday session rush.
Community Bank Inner East has supported the library with $4500 to purchase new toys to invite 20 families from the waiting list to the toy library.
Rotary Club of Balwyn and the City of Boroondara will support the library’s Active Kids project through the Boroondara Community Grants next year with $10,000 to purchase active play toys.
Ashburton Mowers also recently donated a much-loved STIHL toy range.
