Melbourne Community Toy Library in Kensington, Victoria | Charitable organisation

Melbourne Community Toy Library

Locality: Kensington, Victoria

Phone: +61 425 365 096

Address: Kensington Community Recreation Centre, Cnr of Kensington Rd and Altona St 3031 Kensington, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au

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• Charitable organisation
• Community organisation
• Community centre
• Library

25.01.2022 Happy Book Week!

23.01.2022 Brilliant news for our Kensington members...We are reopening for Click-and-Collect on Tuesday 8th December. CnC will be available (by appointment) on Tuesday (K), Friday (C) and Saturdays (Both branches) all from 10-11:30am. So logon and book some toys to borrow! This means we will now be offering delivery only on Thursdays, at a cost of $5. Return toys anytime during those hours at Carlton; by appointment at Kensington.

22.01.2022 Merger complete...We have finally merged our databases for Kensington and Carlton branches! This means that our Kensington members will be able to access toys located at Carlton while the YMCA is closed - hooray! Standby for more info about our contactless delivery service. Sue has also been working hard to add more than 40 new toys (and counting!) to the collection. Thank you to Little Smiles Australia for their generous pricing offer at the recent toy trade fair which enabled us to purchase some beautiful items to expand our collection.

22.01.2022 Lots of clothes for those who need! If you have a health care card, put in an order! We hope they have lots of socks, everyone we know has holes in the toes!

21.01.2022 Hope everyone is staying safe! Were working on a way to get toys into homes so standby. In the meantime if you are in need of Coronavirus updates in your first language, SBS is your friend! https://www.sbs.com.au/language/coronavirus

21.01.2022 Just letting everyone know that the toy library will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday , November 3rd for the Public holiday :) Enjoy!!

20.01.2022 Here is another toy review from our "lonely hearts club". We have so many games & puzzles in our toy libraries that are often overlooked or don't "stand out" when browsing. These are such great items for all ages & encourage family bonding. This toy can be found under G058. Board games offer opportunities for early learning. Even simple games help young players identify colors, count spaces, and develop hand-eye coordination and dexterity in moving cards and pieces around ...the board! With our deliveries currently running multiple times a week, its a great time to discover what our toy library has tooffer! https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php Or sign up here: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/# New members will receive 1 free delivery ;)

20.01.2022 ATTENTION KENSINGTON MEMBERS: The toy library will be closed this Saturday the 8th of Feb, BUT we will be open Friday the 7th from 10-11:30am.

20.01.2022 Sorry we haven't posted for a while - we might just be suffering a bit of burnout too! Fingers crossed we can help you out next week with some deliveries - free for members - of some fresh new toys to keep your little ones amused (and off your case!) Thanks Toy Libraries Australia for sharing this article!

18.01.2022 Carlton and Kensington will be open tmr for click & collect as well as returns !Carlton and Kensington will be open tmr for click & collect as well as returns !

18.01.2022 This is a helpful app to know about - access to important health info, statistics, current restrictions - in English, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Korean, Khmer, Punjabi, Japanese, Italian, Greek, French, Spanish, Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog, Russian, Turkish, Tamil, Somali, Arabic, Burmese, Karen, Dari, Persian, and Urdu. Get it via App Store or Google Play. https://www.myauscovid-19.org.au/

17.01.2022 In order to offer more flexibility for our members we have officially changed our membership pricing structure! This new pricing structure is the result of member feedback as well as operating adjustments. We hope that this fee change will help us continue to serve the Melbourne Community for years to come! ... If you have any questions please PM us or visit http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/membership.h

15.01.2022 Happy Donut Day! We're enjoying the nice weather and positive changes and starting to open back up ourselves but we need your help and are looking for a couple of volunteers to do roster duty at our Carlton Branch. Are you child-free next Friday or Saturday Morning? Can you help us out? Send us a message or sign up as usual via your account.

15.01.2022 Brilliant ideas for physical activity in tight spaces!

15.01.2022 We are seeking volunteers to help at our Bunnings fundraising barbecue on Saturday the 14th of March. No experience required but we would especially like to hear from you if you want to show off your amazing BBQ skills. Members can sign up for shifts on mibase or please email [email protected] (non-members are welcome to help out)

14.01.2022 Carlton members: The Carlton branch will closing early tomorrow (Saturday). We will be open 9:30-10:30am. Dont worry if you cannot make it in, we can renew your toys for an extra week.

12.01.2022 Now delivering play to your doorstep!

12.01.2022 As you are no doubt aware, Melbourne is now in Stage 4 lockdown. Toy Libraries Australia is seeking clarification from Business Victoria about exactly how these restrictions will affect toy libraries, however we do know that "Libraries and information services" must close immediately. Therefore all MCTLs services including "Toys to your door" will be suspended until the 13th September, pending further information. ... All due dates will be extended accordingly and we hope you can continue enjoy the toys you have on loan at the moment. In the meantime, #StayHome and #PlayHard with whatever you can think of! Thinking of all our member families in this difficult time. PS Check your inboxes early next week for our Newsletter! #PlayatHome

12.01.2022 I hope all of our members are doing well & keeping sane! Just a quick update: We are continuing to offer Click&Collect services at : ... Carlton - Friday and Saturday (10-1130) AND Kensington (Tuesday and Saturday 10-1130) . You can book your toys and timeslots on your mibase account. You must book a timeslot apt. So we can keep track of #s at both locations. https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/ Alternatively, we are still offering delivery services within in the City of Melbourne at a charge of $5/ delivery every Thursday. You can book your toys on mibase and they will be delivered to your door! As of now only "Carlton" location toys can be delivered. ****IMPORTANT*** Please ensure all toys are cleaned prior to returning. This is SO important to ensure the safety of our lovely staff & volunteers! In addition, we will be sanitising and quarantining toys once they arrive at the toy library premises. For more information on how to properly clean your toys click here: https://www.toylibraries.org.au/cleaning-toys ***** There will be a temporary ban on ANY members who return dirty toys during this time *****

12.01.2022 If Bunmi can empty her laundry basket, you can clean your toy returns! We believe in you! You can do it <3 Just breathe, get your toothbrush, your dishwashing liquid and your toddler. And lots of towels ;-)

11.01.2022 ***Announcement: Restriction of services due to COVID-19 pandemic. All normal borrowing sessions are closed until further notice.*** Committee has decided to limit our face-to-face services for a period of 4 weeks. The first step has been to close our "stay-and-play"-style borrowing sessions and put a stop on all toy returns. This decision reflects the government`s recent implementation of social distancing policies. We feel that our inner-city location has a high population... and thus higher potential for rapid spread of the virus. However, we also feel that this is also a time when toy rotation may be of great use to families. Melbourne Community Toy Library is currently working to develop a "click and collect service" to assist families who are practicing social distancing. So far, this service is only available to Carlton members due to the Kensington centre closure. We will work hard to improve our online catalogue with images and descriptions to make remote toy selection easier. We are also pushing through our branch amalgamation to facilitate this service for our Kensington members while the YMCA remains closed. Stay tuned, Kensington members! The second step will be to begin accepting returns and cleaning them before quarantining them for 2 weeks to ensure no traces of viruses remain active. We hope that with good systems in place we can continue to operate in this service mode for a prolonged period if necessary. We are aware that this online service will mean that some members without internet access will not be able to access toys at this time, so we will work on that issue afterwards. We also hope to work with volunteer partners to deliver toys to doorsteps of those in isolation. If you know of an organisation able to help us out with delivery driving to those unable to access Carlton for pickups, please get in touch!

10.01.2022 Check out our new video series called the " lonely hearts club". Each couple of weeks we are going to be featuring some of our toys that often get overlooked. This is a great way to rediscover your toy library with fresh eyes Here we are doing an "unboxing" of the box set fairyhouse. Want to check out this toy & many more? Find them here: ... https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/home/index.php

10.01.2022 Hi everyone, we are closed today due to non-covid related illness! We will be open tmr at Carlton and will update you on Kensington this afternoon. Sorry for the inconvenience this has caused! We have contacted all members who had click &collect booked for today.

09.01.2022 Tea time is ready at the Kathleen Syme Library and community centre! Come get out of rain and warm up with friends!

09.01.2022 Weekly(ish!) Cleaning Competition Part 2: Which of these toys can be cleaned in the dishwasher*? Winner of $5 Toy Library credit announced Sunday 19th at 5pm... *Please dont put our toys in the dishwasher unless we specifically state it is safe to do so!

08.01.2022 Wed like to give a big shout out to our student volunteers: Thanks to our amazing volunteer session coordinators Swastika and Renata - we miss you! Also to our wonderful student OT team who are working hard to help our members make better toy choices...thanks Rebecca, Emily and Harika for your exciting work, dedication and enthusiasm

08.01.2022 Live life like a toddler!!

08.01.2022 Weekly competition! How would you clean this tricky spot? Since the government has made it mandatory that members clean toys before returning them, for the next few weeks, were running a series of competitions focussing on toy cleaning strategies. Were offering a $5 toy library account credit to the best answer(s) each week. You can use it to discount a new membership, as credit for overdues, gift it to a friend, or donate it towards a membership for a family doing it tough. Winners announced next Sunday 5pm

08.01.2022 Some exciting news this week! We will be offering $5 delivery AND click and collect to our current members Deliveries are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-1130am. Click & Collect is offered Saturdays 10-1130am at our CARLTON branch.... AND DROP OFF - Fridays 10-1130am. **There is no hiring on these days but we are encouraging members to return any outstanding hires before our grace period ends ** We are still offering a free first delivery to new members ! Search our available toys here: https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php OR join our library: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/#

08.01.2022 Thanks TLA for your great work advocating for Victorian Toy Libraries to offer click and collect and delivery alongside book libraries on Monday - fingers crossed for a response soon!

07.01.2022 Dont forget to book in for a click and collect appointment at Carlton or a delivery :-) Check your email inbox or message us if you need help choosing or booking.

06.01.2022 Covid-19 update: Unfortunately, we are in another lock down situation for 6 weeks. Its not something anyone wants to do but we wanted to let our members know we are here for you. BAD NEWS: We are also closing both locations for click and collect. ... GOOD NEWS: We are waiving overdue fines for another 6 weeks for all members. AND For ONLY $5 You can book toys online (from the Carlton location) and have them dropped off to your front door! Contactless delivery to get you through these next 6 weeks

05.01.2022 Click and Collect at Carlton from next week! Deliveries still available Saturday. Kensington members watch your inbox

05.01.2022 Sorry we havent posted for a while - we might just be suffering a bit of burnout too! Fingers crossed we can help you out next week with some deliveries - free for members - of some fresh new toys to keep your little ones amused (and off your case!) Thanks Toy Libraries Australia for sharing this article!

03.01.2022 Great news! We are finally back open for deliveries with click & collect orders TBA. Normally, our delivery is a $5 but to celebrate our reopening, all deliveries for this week will be FREE! There are limited spaces but the delivery times are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10-1130am. ... You can book your delivery slot and reserve toys on mibase : https://melbourne.mibase.com.au The toys are only available for borrowing from our Carlton location. IMPORTANT Housekeeping: 1. It is the members responsibility to return toys THOROUGHLY cleaned (no need to sterilise). As a largely volunteer based organization we cannot stress this enough. **Think forensic level clean! ** 2. If any toy returns are dirty, there will be an immediate ban from our delivery service which we dont want to do :(. 3. **We will be requiring all members to confirm prior to return they understand the requirements** Welcome back members!

02.01.2022 This is another toy review from our "lonely hearts" collection. Avery decided to take the lead on this one ;) E323: These little boxes are a great activity for kids that dont require a lot of space.... This is from our "expressive play" section. "Expressive play is a natural function of childhood development, as the creative minds of children find their outlet in telling stories dramatically. Expressive play refers to the child's immersion in an imaginary world, complete with characters, setting, and dialogue." This toy also helps children develop their independent play and fine motor skills. You can borrow this toy here (E323): https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php Or if you are new to the library, you can join here: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/#

02.01.2022 Kensington community center has closed due to stage 3 restrictions. Carlton remains open for click and collect and delivery. Stay safe everyone!

02.01.2022 Our staff member Sue had 2 helpful volunteers this weekend, including her lovely daughter They were working super hard to make sure every toy was extra clean for borrowing! Absolute LEGENDS! We still need volunteers for Friday & Saturday sessions in the coming weeks! If you are able to help, please sign up here: ... https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php ***DUE TO COVID19 RESTRICTIONS, WE ARE STILL NOT ALLOWING CHILDREN ON SITE DURING VOLUNTEER/ROSTER DUTIES***

01.01.2022 This is another review of one of our "lonely hearts club" toys. This toy can be found under C60 We cant express how much we LOVE STEM toys here at MCTL ... Research supported by the National Science Foundation concludes that young children benefit from learning STEM subjects, which include Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, because these disciplines play a fundamental role in setting the foundations for future learning. These toys: Facilitate language development Encourage independent or colaborative learning Create a strong link between learning science and "fun" Help develop fine motor skills Help develop problem solving For more information on the importance of STEM toys: https://thebalancedchild.com/why-stem-toys/ Check out this toy here: https://melbourne.mibase.com.au/mem/login.php Or join our library: http://www.melbournecommunitytoylibrary.org.au/#