What is Toy Library

What Happens Here

A toy library is a special kind of library where families borrow high-quality, developmentally appropriate toys—and find a welcoming play space with guidance and community. The value is connection and learning for both children and adults: families play and learn together, meet other caregivers, share practical ideas, and gain understanding from people who know child development. It’s not just access to toys; it’s shared learning, confidence-building, and support. Children have room to explore and grow, and caregivers get concrete ways to support that growth at home, in classrooms, and in care settings.

A Quick Origin Story

The modern U.S. toy-library idea traces to 1935 with a Toy Loan Program created during the Great Depression so children could borrow toys the way they borrow books. It began when a store owner and a school principal saw children taking toys simply because families couldn’t afford them, and the community responded with a borrow-and-return system that encouraged responsibility through a simple reward program. The model spread, re-emerged in later decades, and still operates today through networks of Toy Loan sites in community settings so that all children, including those in low-income neighborhoods, can access quality toys.

The Bigger Network

Toy libraries operate across the U.S. and worldwide, supported by networks such as the USA Toy Library Association (USATLA) and International Toy Libraries Association (ITLA) —sharing tools, standards, and training to launch and sustain programs.

Why Toy Libraries And Play Spaces Matter Now

As families face rising costs, expansion of screens, increased social isolation, and loss of time for free play, there is a growing crisis in children’s development and family connection and well-being. Toy libraries and play spaces are more essential today than ever. 

A toy library is practical infrastructure for childhood and family support.

Toy libraries and play spaces ensure families have affordable access to hundreds of high-quality play materials for their children to have hands-on, imaginative play experiences—the foundation of learning, creativity, and well-being. By borrowing instead of buying, families save money, reduce waste, and expand children’s play experiences. Play spaces provide access to facilitate play experiences that foster learning, strengthen family bonds and community connections, and help restore what childhood needs most: real play, real connection, and real growth.

How Cape Cod Toy Library puts this to work

  • Toy Lending Library: A curated collection of 2,000+ non-electronic toys, games, and puzzles for children up to age 8—selected to support all areas of development along with a collection of 300+ parenting/educator resource books. Borrow. Play. Return. Repeat.

  • A Community Play Spaces & Family Programs: Warm, informal learning environments where families can explore, imagine, and discover together—with guidance from early childhood and special education educators who know play and child development.

Bottom line: Cape Cod Toy Library provides a community infrastructure for play—access, equity, and joy - giving families a welcoming space and the right tools, and kids do the rest.