Where are you located?
The Townsville Toy Library is located at the Railway Estate Community Centre at 23 First St, Railway Estate. This is opposite the back of Townsville High School and the Reid Park playground and next door to Wee Care childcare centre.
When are you open?
The Townsville Toy Library is open every Tuesday and Saturday from 9:30-11am.
Want us to be open more often?! Please consider volunteering your time to help at the Toy Library! (see below!) We are closed for 2 weeks in July while the V8’s infrastructure is in place and for a month or so in January.
All our opening times are also updated regularly on the cover photo of our Facebook page
How do I join?
You can join the Townsville Toy Library any time we are open for borrowing.
To join you just need to fill in a membership form, show your Licence to confirm your ID, pay your membership fee (cash or direct deposit via your phone in the library only) and you are ready to borrow straight away!
To save time you can also print out the 2017-Membership-Form, fill it in at home and bring it in with you.
Do you take EFTPOS?
No, we only take CASH at the Toy Library.
You can however pay your membership fees by direct deposit if you wish. Please note that you will need to provide a screen shot of payment as confirmation before you can borrow toys.
Account details are:
Account Name: Townsville Toy Library
BSB No. 633000
A/C No. 161 339 536
How much does membership cost?
6 month family membership – $80
12 month family membership – $100
12 month volunteer membership – $40 (volunteer 2 hours once/month – kids welcome to come along. See below for further details).
1 month family membership – $10
12 month Family Daycare/Group membership – $120
Do you charge a “per toy” borrowing fee?
No. Once you have paid your membership there are no additional “per toy” fees.
The exception to this is over the December/January period when we are closed and we offer extended borrowing for 2 months for $5 per gold star toy. This also provides us with funds to buy more new toys for the Toy Library.
How many toys can I borrow?
You can borrow 8 toys for up to 4 weeks at a time
Only 3 of your 8 toys can be “gold star” toys. These are our most popular and large toys such as playgyms, slides, kitchens, bikes etc. “Gold star” toys are marked with a black asterisk on the toy next to the toy number.
Can I renew my toys?
Standard toys can be renewed for one additional month. “Gold star” toys are our most popular toys and so cannot be renewed.
You are able to renew your toys by sending a Facebook PM or emailing townsvilletoylibrary@hotmail.com.
What happens if a toy breaks or I lose a piece?
You are responsible for counting pieces of toys BEFORE leaving the Toy Library. If you realise that the toy is incomplete when you get home, please email us on townsvilletoylibrary@hotmail.com straight away with the toy number and correct details.
We ask that you try and really take care of borrowed toys while you have them on loan for the benefit of the whole Toy Library community. When kids are around though pieces do get lost and toys do get broken from time to time!
There is a minimum $5 per piece replacement fee for any missing pieces (some pieces with greater value are charged at higher prices depending on what it costs to replace them eg Schleich animals etc). You may borrow the toy for an additional 1 month period to try and locate any missing pieces. If the toy becomes inoperable due to the missing piece, you will need to replace the toy or pay a negotiated replacement fee.
If a toy breaks due to reasonable wear and tear or because it is in poor condition there is no charge. However, if a toy is broken due to inappropriate use or neglect, including damage by pets, you will be charged the full cost of replacing the toy or you may replace the toy yourself.
Please ensure your pets do not chew on any toys, or you will be charged for their replacement.
Do you charge overdue fees?
If you are unable to return your toys due to illness or other unexpected events please email us or send a Facebook PM – we all have young children and realise that things like this do happen.
Toys are due back one month after they are borrowed. Late fees of $1 per toy, per week may be charged if your toys are overdue
Do you offer discounted memberships?
Yes! Volunteers who help out at the Toy Library for 2 hours once/month (kids are very welcome to come along!) during one of our borrowing sessions receive half price membership.
If you cannot volunteer during our open sessions, please consider other options such as being available for working bees to clean the toy library, helping out at events and stocktake, repair and maintenance of toys, grant application or website help!
We do not offer discounts to pensioners or Health Care Card holders.
Can I reserve toys?
Unfortunately we are unable to reserve toys from the general collection. There are over 1300 toys in the Toy Library, however, so whenever you come in there will always be a huge variety of toys to choose from. We do however hire out “party toys” for weekend hire at an additional cost. These toys are designed for use at birthday parties and events and can be booked in advance.
Do you hire out jumping castles and party toys?
Yes! Members with a 6 and 12 month membership are entitled to book and hire our two jumping castles and party toys. For further enquiries and bookings please email ttlpartytoys@hotmail.com.
What ages are the toys suitable for?
We have over 1300 toys suitable for children aged 0-8.
Do you take toy donations?
Yes! We welcome donations of good quality wooden and plastic toys. We do not accept donations of stuffed toys.
Do you have a playgroup at the Toy Library?
There is no regular playgroup at the Townsville Toy Library. We do however have special craft days and messy play days periodically. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates about these!
What does volunteering involve?
The Townsville Toy Library is run ENTIRELY by volunteers. This is a huge part of what makes it a fantastic organisation to be a part of.
Volunteering involves helping at the Toy Library for 2 hours once per month on a roster during a borrowing session. Duties include borrowing and returning toys on the computer, helping return toys to the shelves, keeping a watch over kids who may be playing and helping take toys out to people’s cars.
Children are very welcome to come along with you when you volunteer.
Volunteers also receive half price membership as well as half price jumping castle and party toy hire.
We also need people who can fix broken toys and helpers for one off events like Messy Play Day and Stocktake.
For further information or if you can help please email townsvilletoylibrary@hotmail.com.