What is the Toy Library?
The Toy Library is just what it sounds like: toys and games that you can check out with your library card to use in the library or to take home. The Toy Library is designed to improve the lives of children with and without special needs and to provide families with access to high quality toys and materials for play. The Toy Catalog provides helpful information on how toys can be used to promote child development and play-based learning (print version available for use at the library to aid in browsing and selecting toy library materials; online version here). To view a simple list online of the toy library holdings, click here.
How does it work? What are the rules?
~You must check toys out if you are to use them at the library.
~You must check toys out if you are to bring them home.
~You must bring toy library items back to the Guilford Free Library children’s desk while the library is open.
~You may NOT put toy library items in the drop-box.
~You may NOT return toy library items to another library.
~You may NOT drop toys off at the circulation desk where books are returned.
~You can check out any number of toys from the toy library (as many as you are willing to be responsible for). The library reserves the right to limit toy library item checkout at its discretion to ensure a reasonable number of toys are available for patrons at all times.
~You can check out toy library items for 3 weeks, with no renewals. Late fee is 50¢/day/toy.
~Toy library items can only be checked out on an adult card or a child’s card if an adult is present. Children under the age of 18 are not allowed to check out toys by themselves.
~You are responsible for bringing back toy library items with all of their pieces and in good condition. You are responsible for any loss or damage costs associated with replacing missing/damaged toys and/or parts.
How did it come about?
The Toy Library is made possible through an innovative grant from the Guilford Fund For Education (GFFE), which brings this exciting opportunity to Guilford. Sheryl Shyloski is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst working at Guilford Lakes Elementary School, primarily with students in the preschool and Applied Behavior Analysis programs. Sheryl uses toys in her daily work with students to engage their cognitive and Social-Emotional skills, and wanted a way to let parents continue working on those skills at home, so she wrote a grant to have toys brought to the public library for families to borrow, as well as obtaining additional toys for the school’s library for teachers to use in their lessons. Librarians at the Guilford Free Library loved this idea and rearranged their space to accommodate this collection, as well as dedicating time to organizing and cataloging materials to make them available for checkout to the public. Through this partnership, families in the area now have access to this unique and valuable resource.
Why is having a toy library important?
Toys and play are the vehicles used to provide children with an understanding of and an ability to relate to the world around them. Toys support increased interactions within the family and the community as a whole. Additionally, buying and maintaining the variety of toys available in the toy library is not a fiscally reasonable endeavor for the average family. Toys are another important learning resource, just like books, which the library is happy to provide for free to enrich the lives of its patrons.
