Transcript-Fredericton Toy Library

The Toy Lending Library in downtown Fredericton allows parents to borrow toys for their children for up to three weeks. It is open Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 10am to 12 noon.

VO

A room full of toys is normally a noisy spot. But this morning, the Fredericton Toy Library is empty. The library overlooks downtown Fredericton from Wilmot United Church and used to be bustling with children. Karen Flinn, coordinator of library, is disappointed with participation this year. 

CLIP – Karen Flinn, coordinator of The Fredericton Toy Library

“We don’t seem to have as many people using it as we used to. I think that’s partly because there’s a bit of a blip so there’s an awful lot of children who are in grade three.”

VO

The library has new and old toys for children up to age 8. Although the toys are getting newer, the library started with an old idea.

STAND UP

In 1979 a group of women from the Fredericton community decided to organize playdates for their children. The kids would bring their own toys and share them with one another. Those playdates soon turned into what is now known as the Toy Lending Library downtown. Parents who use the library now love to save the money and see their children make new friends. And the kids don’t seem to mind it either.

CLIP – Jabin Zuidhof – child

-You want to buy everything at the toy library?

“Yeah.”

-Are all the toys really cool?

“Yeah. I don’t know what to pick.”

VO

The Zuidhof family goes to the toy library once a month. The kids chose these toys last week. Each child can pick their own toy and borrow it for three weeks. Aron Zuidhof says it’s a great way to spend time with his family.

CLIP – Aron Zuidhof – father

“I think it’s just the idea that we don’t need all the toys all at once. We found that our kids, what we were doing is hiding some of their toys and we would bring them down and they’d be brand new and the toy library kind of taps into that where kids will play with something for a while and then they’ll get bored of it and you can bring it back and that way you don’t have to go to the store and pick out new toys all the time.”

VO

Families whose children have grown out of their toys can donate them to the library. That way an old toy for one child can be a taste of something new for another. For STU Journalism, I’m Liz Dail in Fredericton.

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Posted by Liz Dail on Sep 30, 2009. Filed under Transcripts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.