Toybrarian

I don't know what a Push Truck is

2010-12-11T11:15:00.000-05:00

My volunteers and I have a couple inside jokes.

One of which involves the game "Pig Pong". The box had a tagline that said something along the lines of "Best family game ever". But we couldn't find the "pong" piece (roundish paper foam pieces put together to create a circle). The toy doctor took it home to try and make a new "pong" piece and he tried to play it with his family. He came back and (in more creative words) told me that it is not the best family game ever. I was still trying to make a new pong out of origami paper, nothing worked. So we decided to take it out of the system. About a year later I was going through some drawers and I find extra pieces to games, and to my surprise, the pong pieces for Pig Pong. After the game was completely dismantled and partially thrown away, I find it. I laughed for weeks when I told this story because to me, it meant that eventually everything will be found, sometimes it just takes a while.

The other joke is that I don't know what a "Push Truck" is.

Librarians have their own language and that's bad enough. The Toy Resource Center Language is a dialect of that Librarian language. Like a teeny tiny island language. We're either overly descriptive in the labels so you know exactly which item belongs with the toy, or so completely vague it's ridiculous. This happened my first year here. I found this bag full of plastic food items, colorful cans and milk cartons, the label reads "For Push Truck". I have no idea what it is. So I begin asking the volunteers, the woman who used to work here, random patrons what a "Push Truck" was. And no one knew. So I begin to obsess about it, a little (maybe more than a little). I take down every possible truck and vehicle toy to look at the label. Nothing. I Google it. Nothing. Look through eBay sites, look through pages and pages of catalogs and images. Nothing. Eventually, (like after 2 years), I put the bags of cartons and cans with the kitchen sets. I gave up on the poor Push Truck. But when I find something random, I usually say, "if only I could find the Push Truck too". Since then I have been a little more careful about explaining how the items go together, makes life a little easier. I have to remind myself often that it is not second nature to everyone. There haven't been many people that speak the Toy Language.

It has been 5 years this week since I was hired. I have had the pig from Pig Pong on my desk for about that long. And I still don't know what a push truck is. And this is where I insert the point of this whole entry...

I have been officially hired at Sully Branch Library to be their new Young Adult Librarian. I am super super excited to be taking on a new position, but it's stories like the ones above that make me truly sad to be leaving such a great place in the library system.

(I apologize for the possible future corniness in this post.)

I have literally grown up with these toys. Not only as a child when I played with many of these same toys, but I have been here for 5 years, an important 5 years. I have been in and out of Graduate school. I have been in and out of relationships, my hair has gone from ridiculous shades of red and back, moved out of my parents house, I have a nephew now! All these things have happened. I have shared a lot of my life with a many of the patrons who have come in. I want to thank them for listening. I want to thank them for making me as much apart of their life as I have made them apart of mine. I will miss the people as much as I will miss the toys.

A realization

2010-11-18T14:45:00.000-05:00

It has been a random busy month and not just with work.

I have a nephew! I am a first time Aunt so I am super excited, plus I live with my sister so I get to see the little peanut every day. He doesn't talk and sleeps a lot so we're getting along splendidly so far :-) He has made me think about something. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get to the point, often it does...

I have met hundreds of mothers (my sister now included in this) who just amaze me... They are Mama bears immediately. Would do anything, say anything, sacrifice anything for their child. And it is so sudden. I have seen something kind of interesting happen very quickly in my little house... It's all about the baby. We are quiet more often. We cleaned the house top to bottom. I vacuumed. Wow!

There one phrase that keeps going in and out of my head lately is: "It's not about you". That is a common phrase in my world... meaning that we have to put our selfishness aside, take ourselves out of a situation and leave who really matters.

So sitting at the library on Monday I was watching teachers interact with the children playing in the room. The teachers were great, they really let the kids play with the toys how they wanted, the only big rule was to clean up after themselves. They talked to the kids, but really, they listened. Then later on that afternoon I found myself talking about programming, and I said, if I was planning a program, I would first see what has worked before and then see what the people want. It felt like a cop out answer to a question that would need a detailed response, but I am sticking to it. And then it dawned on me: "it's not about us."

We provide a service to people. We provide guidance. When it comes down to it, it's all about customer service. It doesn't matter how we feel about a book/movie/toy we have in the collection, the people may want it. It doesn't really matter if we like how a person is speaking to us, we still help them. At the end of the day... it has little to do with us. But it does...

Bad at Blogging

2010-10-14T14:19:00.000-04:00

I think I went through typical writers block. As the days in summer blended together, so have the days of fall. Instead of group after group of children whizzing in and out, fall has become the season of cleaning and organizing. I would love to say that after a month and half the clean-up project is complete, but I would be lying.

I am proud to say that the sections have all been organized (aka shelf read in a way). And I am down to approximately 3 bins of mess instead of 6 and it is, and I mean this sincerely, organized mess. It just takes an amazing amount of energy, patience and time to dump out bins of miscellaneous pieces and put them in the bags which they belong. Any pieces that don't go into their "home" eventually make it to the wall of miscellaneous extra pieces. I am also trying to sort that out as I go, which is why, I believe it is taking so long. I am finding pieces of sets torn apart long ago and putting them back together, finally. Rescuing them from the dead, if you will. If you wait long enough, all the pieces make sense, kind of like a puzzle.

I have the uncanny ability of knowing where a piece of a toy belongs just by a simple glance. I can tell you which animal set a particular style of animal goes in, which game a pawn may go in, which set of baby toys the giraffe rattle goes in. Fisher Price makes this easy because they have so much consistency. So it started there.

I would like to say this ability was learned just by being surrounded by the toys. I would say 75% of it is. I learned how to do this job on the job. The other 25% of it I have Google to thank. I have the ability of finding whole toys by typing in description of some of the pieces. That comes in most use when I am sorting out donations. People will typically keep the whole set/ games together, but other times it is just a box of toys and I have to figure out what it is. There are a few other sites, especially the Fisher Price one, I use frequently. I am thankful for either the obsessiveness or boredom of people who have put these together. If only I could make a living making one myself.

This Old Toy-Fisher Price catalog of toys. Amazing resource if you are a collector of the brand. You can look up the play sets and then see how it's changed over the years. Also, you can look up an item by number and see which sets it's in.

bricks.argz.com- I found this one recently because I am trying to put together the mass amount of Duplos the library has into their correct sets. It will be a lengthy project. Anyway, thankfully all the bricks and pieces are numbered, because you can just look them up and it will tell you which set you can find it in. I am finding items from sets and I didn't even know we once owned!

Stingray's Hideaway: Toy Museum- I use this mostly for Little Tikes. It is a little harder to find items by pieces, but it does give you original catalog photos so you know which toys belong in a set.

I have to say that this whole organizing, putting things back together part of my job is probably the most productive feeling. I am adding back to the collection, I am making toy sets whole, they original way they were sold and enjoyed before coming to the library. Archiving toys is fun :-)

First Saturday Back...

2010-09-11T11:45:00.005-04:00

As thankful as I am for the children to be back in school, it means that I am back here on the weekends. For about 11 weeks I get to find out what it's like to have weekends off (well, kind of, I have another job at a movie theater, I have to schedule time off from there to get any real days off.) All of this is to say, that today is my first Saturday back and I have to admit, it was kind of hard to come in. The first one back is always the hardest.

It's not that I don't have plenty to do. I am still catching up from being closed this past Monday. I came in on Tuesday and cleaned up half the toy room. It took over 4 hours and only half of it was perfectly cleaned. I am still tempted to take pictures. Piles of boxes, bags neatly aligned in bins on the shelves, the happiness comes from a place of OCD organizational bliss. I reorganized a little bit. Since we have so many kinds of blocks and building sets I rearranged how those were shelved this past week... It's my own personal tricky form of marketing for under-circulated items. Today I intend on rearranging a few of the larger items. It's a seasonal thing for me... I think the change of season should bring a change in look the library. So I am going to move the play house closer to the kitchen items... bring in a new (to me) fixture for the games. I have been getting so many game donations, I have no room left on the shelves.

I intended on doing a whole lot today. Instead I find myself talking with the parents and other grown-ups coming in and finally catching up on the blogging.

I can almost think about the quietness

2010-08-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

8 boys are playing basketball.

7 girls are playing house.

There are random hoots and hollering of playing. I'm sure in a week, when it is quiet in here, I will hate it. I love the good noises of this place. I don't have to look up when I just hear basketball growls and girl's jibber jabber. Unless there are higher pitch screams or crashing, I can sit here in my own little world and attempt to get work done.

I have to begin thinking about the clean up of this room. I have set aside the day after labor day to do it. Kids will be in school, I won't be open to the public. I am going to get hopped up on Red Bull and see how much I can get accomplished.

I also have to think about some sort of "door/wall decoration". Over a year ago, our teen center was renovated. In that renovation my door was moved from the corner to the almost middle of the back wall of the library. Now, I have this wall space to work with, to kinda say: "hey! look! it's a toy library!" And then no one can ever walk into this building again without knowing it's here. This was presented to me last week. I was told as long as it could be done cheaply, we could do some painting of some sort. Something like this would be my dream.

Maybe a little more toys involved. I like the city idea.

I will work with what I have. This is what My current brochure and sign look like:

I love it, the person who designed it has retired :-(. I am thinking something along these lines. Maybe a little less generic clip art. I am officially on the hunt for cool toy pictures and a way to semi-permanently hang them on the wall. And then maybe bright paint + block letters spelling out Toy Resource Center?

I'm sure there are more things on my agenda that I am supposed to think about as school goes into session. Like the quietness....

Violence AND/ IN Play

2010-08-18T17:50:00.000-04:00

I found the first article below during the daily blog reading and as per usual it got me thinking. So then I did a little research and found the other two.

Should We Let Our Kids Play With Toy Guns?

I don't allow them to see TV or video games that represent any violence at all, let alone gun play. Still, I can't give my older child a banana for his snack without him pretending it's a gun. Is it a boy thing? It seems to be in his DNA.

In conversation's I've had this has happened often. Many mom's are screwed if they do, screwed if they don't. If their child doesn't own a gun toy, it wants one and may not be happy until it has one. And then they go and make their own guns (hence the banana). I do believe it is a boy thing. I also believe that "gun play" is a stage. I have no problem with toy guns as long as they are not pointed directly at people. I recently bought my godson a Nerf gun. It surprised me how much I didn't have a problem with it, it shoots out green balls, not bullets. The most important part to me: it doesn't look like a real gun.

War Play, Gun Play, Superhero and Violent Play...Why Won't It Go Away?
"Why do preschoolers play this way sometimes? Three-, 4- and 5-year-olds typically are not in control of their own lives. Adults make most of the decisions, and older siblings and playmates make up most of the rules. Teachers and child-care providers work with larger groups of children and must have some control over planned activities and schedules. Preschoolers may feel a bit lost in this world of older decision makers."

Last week I was listening to kids talk as they played. One girl was telling the other girl what to do in their play. It got me thinking, how many rules are there in the kids games? Does everyone know the rules? And why is there always that one bossy person in a "game"? I sometimes like to settle down the bossy person if they are going to the extreme. Like when they tell someone else "you have to play it this way" I can't disrupt the nature of the alpha-dog process and I know it.

The Truth Behind Violent Play
"Children who excluded a child tended to call him or her a name (girl or baby or tattletale) and then they seemed to feel justified in being physically or verbally hurtful to that child. On the other hand, a child who is frequently ostracized can justify violence as a means of retaliation."

I see this kind of "violence" more often than not. The key word in the article above is "justified" My least favorite story to tell happened a couple weeks ago. A little girl was accidentally pushed by another boy. Instead of the little boy just saying sorry and the situation being over... the boy's older brother + friend took him out of the room and began hitting him for "hurting" a girl. The older boys believed they were justified in their punishment.

It is hard to tell stories about this room without mentioning a violent act once in a while (weird huh?). Sometimes it's a older sister dragging her younger sister out of here by the arm. Sometimes it's 2 boys fighting and/or play fighting. Sometimes it's verbal: name calling, degrading, general yelling. The occasions of pretend gun play are rarer. There might be a game of cops and robbers once in a while, but since it typically includes play fighting and yelling it's squashed within moments.

This is my question. What if violent play has nothing to do with guns, soldiers and war? What if the play and games just turns violent?

I found my patience while playing with Marble Runs

2010-08-02T17:19:00.000-04:00

July is over, meaning we're officially half through the busyness of summer.

July = 619 children, 195 came in without adults. Some days there were 20 kids in here at once. Other days it was more like 10, but they all seemed relatively the same amount of work and stress.

I had a conversation today. It was the endless conversation that we have daily, weekly, monthly. We may have new insights once in a while, but there are never solutions. What do we do with children who misbehave. This is the conversation: "If we kick them out forever, then we lose them forever... They are too young for us to lose them... We have to be their parents in here..." It is something that I have battled with for a long time while working here. Is that fair to us? No. But are we working for the greater good of children, literacy and the surrounding community? I believe the answer is yes and that is why I have worked here for over four years, went to school to become a librarian and will love to continue working in this field.

The conversation happened after my break, and right afterwards the children came back in after their snack. We all had a break from one another. But they came in annoyed with each other, Robert was doing this, or Jeremiah was doing that and Heaven just wasn't helping matters.... So Jeremiah came up to my desk as I was counting the pieces to a bingo game (with the cage that spins and holds the number balls) He was spinning it around and telling me how it worked. I figured if he was interested in that, maybe he would like the marble runs, he would like to see how it worked. So I sat him down and we played with it, and then the other kids surrounded us and they all wanted to play with it. But Jeremiah needed some time alone so we shooed them away. And for about 10 minutes we had this perfect toy time. And I realized how simple it is to find the patience to handle this job... Sometimes I get so busy doing my job (counting returns, cleaning up, paperwork, putting toys sets back together) that I forget to take the time to do my job.

Words From My Days...

2010-07-19T17:04:00.001-04:00

My days have become a cloud of all these statements. I go home exhausted. There are more children, more to do and less people to do it. More mess. More Noise. Brain hurts.

Don't climb on the horse!
Don’t throw the baby dolls!
Share the ball.

Can we play the game where you listen to me?
Go tell/ask/find your sister/brother/ parent.
Please stop talking back .
Don’t throw the ball at her .
Can’t come in yet kids, there is a group in here .
Want to play Connect Four/ Mr. Mouth/ Mancala with me?
Please don't come behind my desk there are way more fun things to play with out there.
Baby cakes, sugar, darling, dude, dear...
Everyone cleans up until the room is clean.

No food allowed in the library .
Come back in here when you have a better attitude, please .
Stop climbing on the horse!

You’re inside not outside!
Simmer down por favor!
Where is your grown-up?
Be good, Meghan has already had a busy day
Stop running.

Stop chasing him/her.

Don't you think you're too big for that?

This is a kids room, please act like it.

Clean up your mess.

Please stop yelling.

Just pretend this is a normal library.
Please don't crash into my desk.

Please?!?!?

And for your viewing pleasure... miscellaneous links:
Taking the Toys Away
An Old Book. Thought maybe I would post it as a sign...
The Toys R Us

In some towns, libraries serve as a haven for kids, day care for parents - chicagotribune.com

2010-07-07T16:04:00.001-04:00

"Librarians … they are the hidden stars of our communities," Neuman said. "Librarians act as substitute mother teachers. They have taken it upon themselves to fill this role. They are doing it and doing it well, even if it is not something they wanted to do."

Read the rest of the article here...Kids find summertime haven in libraries, parents find day care

Another Movie About Toys...

2010-06-30T11:41:00.000-04:00

And of course, it will be in 3-D.

Lego: The Movie finds its directors

Link Day!

2010-06-28T16:07:00.004-04:00

Miscellaneous Link Sharing... AKA.... Catching Up on My Blog Reading

Summer Play:
Create a Sensory Backyard
Worst Toys Of Summer
Best Outdoor Toys

This article makes me want to be a toy designer: The Emotional Connection of Design and Toys

From A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette: Polite librarians know that their officemates hate their choice of low-playing music in the library workplace. If you insist on playing music in your office space, choose something that you both hate so that you can ridicule it together.

Personally, I like to listen to Adult Alternative on Yahoo Radio... the kids don't seem to mind :-)

And finally, another use for Silly Bandz: Worship Saved by Silly Bandz (Should I admit now that I had no idea what these were until this past weekend?)

First Day Back / Last Day of School

2010-06-23T17:26:00.001-04:00

So I was on vacation for the last week... I was in peaceful California for my best friend Brian's wedding. Even better, I was in the wedding. We did something a little different. Instead of standing up with the bride like a girl usually would... I stood up with the groom. I had a different color dress on than the bridesmaids, it was so much fun!

So I am back at work just in time for the kiddies to be out of school... I thought tomorrow was the last, but it sure doesn't feel like it. It's been crazy since 1 PM. Fourteen kids were playing kickball in here for a while. Surprisingly that was a more relaxed part of the afternoon. I sent 3 kids out of here within an hour. I decided to be low tolerance for bad behavior right away. Maybe within a couple weeks all the wrinkles will be straightened out... and I will have a happy no yelling summer.

I am wishing.... :-)

Things that Kids Say, An on going post.

2010-06-12T13:56:00.002-04:00

These things have been said to me (or in the room) in the last month-ish:

Me: "Isaiah, don't throw the babies!"

One kid to another: "Eat goldfish nuts"

Two boys were asking me random questions. If I knew anyone from Turkey (because of the Turkish Festival). If I had kids, or a boyfriend and then to top it off: "Meghan, do you have a dildo?"

And from the same kid last month: "Meghan, is it true... that... you give as much as head as shampoo?" He was messing up the line as he was saying it. I replied with go away.

Aren't they cute?!?!

Toy Story

2010-06-12T12:26:00.000-04:00

So, I am not a big fan of movies based on books (especially when the screenplay comes out at the same time as the book like Dan Brown) Or movies remade 20 years after the original (Hairspray). Or... movies that are remakes of movies made in other countries (Death at a Funeral). Not that I'm a movie snob or anything :-)

On the other hand, I do like movies based on toys. It is kind of hard to believe that the original came out 15 years ago. I was young enough at the time that it was "cool" to watch it. That same year it came out, I think I wanted a Mr. Potato Head for Christmas. And it was because of the movie.

I find it exciting to see toys that have been in not only my life, my my parents life (and soon to be my niece's or nephew's life!) as characters in movies. I don't think that kids quite grasp that... that it was a toy before a character. And it's not that it even matters that they get it, but in hindsight it is pretty cool.

The other reason I really liked this movie is that the characters (and the toys) are still popular. Disney hasn't created too many sustainable movies and/or characters since Toy Story. The seem to be popular for a bit and than vanish into memories. I grew up in the Disney Princess era of Disney. The princesses are still popular. I am not going to say if the movies were better or worse than now. They are a whole lot funnier now!

I have a little boy who comes in here with his parents. He is 3 years old, his two brothers are over 10. He is absolutely in love with Woody and Buzz.(You should have seen his face when I showed him a new Buzz Lightyear toy with a spaceship!) I have a Woody doll behind my desk on display. Without fail, when he comes in, it is the first thing he asks for. I asked his mom how he knew who Woody was... a valid question considering the movie came out over 10 years before he was born... and it was from his brothers who continued to watch the movie with him. Then I realized how much of a classic it had become...

Games that Adults Play

2010-06-05T12:29:00.001-04:00

So for once, instead of talking about kids and toys, I will talk about adults and the games we like to play. And by "we" I mean my little world of people.

Apples to Apples has been a favorite in my household for a while now. There are red cards and green cards. At least 4 people are needed to play, but it's really more the merrier. Each person is dealt 7 red cards, and then one person, each round, is picked to be the judge. They pick up a green card and put it in the center of the table. The others all place a red card down from their hand trying to pick the card with the best association to the green card. The judge then picks he winner. It is a simple game of word associations, but what makes it fun for us is the strategy of knowing the person well enough to guess what they would pick. Hilarity typically ensues.

We used to play LCR at family picnics and parties. There are chips shown as score keepers, but we used to play with dollar bills. You would start with $3, and if you rolled the dice and it came up "L, C and R", you would put one to the left, one in the center and then one to the right. The black dot meant you were safe and could keep it. You take turns clockwise around a table until there is only one left still rolling (and they kept the pot).

Another dice game that I just learned how to play recently is Greed. There is an official game with "greed" dice but I played a simpler version. All you need are 6 dice and the set of scoring rules. It is easy to learn. And highly competitive towards the end.You have to roll 500 to get on the scoring board and then we played up to 10,000, but you have to score 10,000 exactly, no going over.

My family is not allowed to play Taboo anymore. It's been over 5 years now, and no one can really remember why we're not allowed to play... maybe us girls were cheating? I guess that shows how competitive we are. Anyway, this is another word association game, but you're not allowed to say one particular word. You're trying to get your team to say it in a designated amount of time. There is a buzzer involved, which can get quite obnoxious, but I have never played this game without laughing hysterically.

I would be maimed if I didn't mention Euchre. I actually forgot about it until I went and asked the circulation desk what games they typically play. I will admit right now that I don't know how to play. I have been taught a couple times. Every party we have at our house turns into a Euchre game. It is one of those games that people take so seriously. I have pictures from the Euchre games. The look on the people's faces is ferocious. It is one of the most competitive games I have ever witnessed. And this is why I fear playing again. I'll stick with my Connect Four.

And now, I want to know... What are the games you play at parties or gatherings?

A Guest Blogger

2010-05-24T11:03:00.000-04:00

Repairing toys at the Toy Resource Center
- a blog entry by Art Whitfield 5-21-2010

For over 14 years I’ve been repairing toys for the Toy Resource Center (TRC), formerly called the Rochester Toy Library. There is tremendous satisfaction in bringing home a pile of broken toys that were destined for the trash, and returning a few weeks later to the smiles of children, parents, and staff. Due to the TRC, I’ve made some wonderful friends, met striking people who touched my life, and watched children look with wonder when they watch me repair a beloved toy in the library. Now how cool is that!

So what’s up with repairing toys? Most often, its simply gluing a wheel back on a wooden train, or replacing a broken bolt on a tricycle. But other times, in the quiet of my basement workshop, it’s a real challenge - technically and mechanically to complete a toy repair. While not all of my repair attempts are successful, most are. When a toy has broken too severely to be saved, I’m not distressed because it was going to be tossed anyway had I not been there to try. Some repairs become tests of my home-shop manufacturing skills. Other repairs become a test of my engineering skills and diagnostic skills. Especially the electronic toys, where the failure is not obvious and I don’t have all the circuit details available. Sometimes these challenges take hours of investigation, and clearly more time than the toy is worth. But a success is a learning experience for me, and often a private victory. The staff at the TRC have often listened patiently while I describe, in no doubt boring detail, how I completed a challenging repair. I’m grateful for their patience and willingness to listen. Then again, they are used to working with kids!

Some repairs are not fun. If it’s a toy that I truly dislike, sometimes it’s difficult to make the same effort as with a toy I like. In those times, I need to remember that there are probably many children who love the toy, and that my opinions don’t matter. Again, here’s where I totally trust the toy librarian and other staff. They know the toys in ways that I never will. Thinking on this, no doubt I know the toys in other ways (mostly how they work and what they look like inside) that most will never know, or perhaps ever care. Also in the “not fun” category are the toys that break repeatedly. Most often this is due to a poor design. The play value may be there, but if it’s always broken, it’s difficult to see past that to the merits of the toy.

In closing, I want to restate what a pleasure it is for me to repair toys on behalf of the children, parents, caregivers, and staff of the Toy Library. You all trust me with the toys unquestioningly, and are always beaming with pleasure when I bring them back. It’s a mutual sharing of affection that touches me deeply. I will always treasure my time spent as the “toy doctor”.

Budget Crisis, As Per Usual

2010-05-17T16:35:00.000-04:00

I have to say, I am kind of proud of working for the City of Rochester....

All branch libraries will remain open and some hours will be extended. We are not closing a firehouse, nor are we reducing the number of police officers on the street.

For as long as I have been in the library system I have never cut in employees or a library close. I think that is pretty great. We may cut hours once in a while but then something like this happens... and it's kind of like a glimmer of sun.

"Library hours are expanded from 36 hours to 70 hours per week at the Sully Branch Library located in the new Thomas P. Ryan Center enabling youth to enjoy physical activities in the evening at the Thomas P. Ryan Center and then go down the hallway and read in the Sully Branch."-City Budget

I kind of giggle at the idea of kids going from the rec center to the library to read a book. I was visiting there last week. As per usual with any library, there was way more going on than just reading :-)

The Frustrating Part

2010-05-10T10:00:00.001-04:00

I have a lot of dreams about the toy library. They often involve decapitated toys strewn around the room. I don't know why... The other dreams involve children heartily dumping out bags after bags of toys. That one is more of a nightmare to me than the first one.

One of the big rules in here is to clean up after yourself. It is also the rule that is most broken. I am trying to figure out a way to fix it... Especially since school is ending soon and thus begins our super busy season. Apparently me telling kids "only one bag/toy at a time" or "clean up!" doesn't work. There are two reasons why this is officially a problem.

Problem number one: the boss lady has actually commented on the "mess" twice. I am slightly ashamed of that. I am a pretty good about keeping on top of the things she comments on so she doesn't have to mention it again. Problem number two: it is a never-ending-revolving cycle of mess. I clean it up, put the bags happily back onto the shelf and the next day, or an hour later they are back on the floor all sorts of mixed up.

I want children to come in here and have fun... and the fact that I worry about them playing with more than one toy at a time shouldn't stress me out. But all I can think about every time I see a child dump out a bag full of toys is not being able to find matching hamburger roll pieces when I have to put the toy back together in the bag. I spent 10 minutes looking for a matching set or forks, knives and spoons.... don't even get me started on trying to separate puzzle pieces.

I have a wacky work schedule here, two days of week I am here for seven hours. and two days I am here for three. On the long days I usually get about two hours of quiet project/clean-up time. The morning is busy with groups + families and once the kids get out of school (around 2 pm-3 pm) I can't get a whole lot more accomplished. I have to pay attention to what they're doing and saying.

So during my discussion with boss lady about "the mess" for the second time in over 4 years I couldn't come up with an immediate solution. Because not letting children come in here to play to their heart's content isn't an option. It's what this place is meant for...

Global Toy News

2010-05-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

Quite a while ago I figured out that there isn't a whole lot of information "out there" about toys and play. There are plenty of books, but it is a very small niche that people blog about it. The good news is that motivates me to write this blog in the first place. The second good part is that whenever I find another like minded blogger I like to plug it as much as possible. Richard Gottlieb is that guy. I have been following him for over a year and every time he posts something interesting I like to expand upon it. He has started a new magazine entitled Global Toy News which I have immediately started reading and have began following his guest bloggers.

Enjoy!

Art Whitfield, Toy Doctor Extraordinaire

2010-04-29T12:54:00.000-04:00

So I have mentioned one of the Toy Resource Center's volunteers, Joyce. She comes in once a week and helps me out with getting the toys back on the shelf after being returned. BUT she also has this fantastic knowledge of early education, play and learning so she helps out parents, providers and teachers who come in. There is another person who helps out here tremendously. His name is Art Whitfield and we call him the Toy Doctor. I could now mention the countless other places he volunteers his time and skills and how awesome he is, but, I think that may make him blush.

He has made a visitor site for the toy library which soon, we will probably put to better use, especially because it is coming up on the 25th anniversary of the Rochester Toy Library (10 years as Toy Resource Center this month at Lincoln!) Here is the link: Friends of Rochester Toy Library

He also blogs about all sorts of smart stuff like lightning, music and general technology. Here is his blog: WindWorks Design.

One more plug, courtesy of Art who also has this video posted. Dave Eggers did a talk on engaging children and teens within tutoring centers. This kinda touched my heart a little bit, since I work with the same age group:

"Some of these kids just don't plain know how good they are, how smart and how much they have to say. You can tell them."

By the way, I'm addicted to TED now, thanks Art!

And speaking of games changing...

2010-04-24T11:06:00.001-04:00

Article from Time Magazine: Why Has Scrabble Changed Its Rules?

Thankfully it is for a separate game called "Scrabble Trickster" and it won't be sold in the U.S.... but still, why simplify such a great game?

Baby Toys

2010-04-21T17:35:00.001-04:00

This entry, as most entries, began as a conversation with my (fabulous) volunteer Joyce and I.

I asked her, quite simply, what is a good baby toy. I forgot why I asked. My guess is that it was a branch off the never ending complaints of battery powered toys. (Simply put, toys that have batteries for no reason are annoying. Toys, at one point, weren't electronic and we all grew up just fine.) Or it was probably the confusion of what toy companies call a baby toy and what we like to see babies playing with.

As for the battery portion, I did a tidbit of research. On the Fisher Price website, the toys they suggest for 0-5 months, less than half (19 out of 42) are battery free. And only 40% (55 out of 132) are battery free when you get to the 6-11 months category. Fisher Price is a highly regarded toy company. If I didn't know as much about toys as I do, I would trust what they tell me and what they sell as an infant toy. I am not trying to say that Fisher Price isn't fantastic and innovative in it's own right, but, why does a tea set need batteries?

Toy companies call a lot of toys "infant toys". And not to further harp on Fisher Price, but when you look at the recommendations for 6-11 months, a lot of them were bracketed for 6-36 months. There is a huge difference between the two. Companies try to pass off toys that teach the alphabet and numbers baby toys. Babies don't know those concepts. And this is where I am torn. Some would tell me it is never to early to introduce those concepts. But I see this as more than a introduction, I see it as a premature learning because the toy is talking/teaching you. They will have plenty of schooling when they get to school.

These are the types of toys that we like to see infants play with: Discovery Toys-Infants. They are tactile, cause and effect, color and shape, movement toys and they all make REAL noise, if they make toys at all. No batteries, no talking toys, no inappropriate concepts being taught. They are, and I really don't mean to pun, toys that infants make discoveries with. One other great company is Whoozits! by Manhattan Toy Company. They toys are brightly colored, textured and simple, just the way baby toys should be. This list also isn't bad: Baby Zone. The only electronic toy is the jumparoo. If I owned it, (and take this as advice) I just wouldn't put the batteries in it!

The Games Keep Changing

2010-03-31T15:58:00.001-04:00

The games keep changing. This is something that has been boiling in the back of my head for the past few weeks, ever since receiving a mass amount of game donations for the toy library. It's the pieces, the boards, the colors. Something changes each time a new edition is put out.

It started with game pawns with Chutes & Ladders and Candy Land. They have changed back and forth from plastic to cardboard, and each time the picture/shape changes. The way the game board folds and the box shape changed for Sorry, Monopoly and Scrabble Junior. Also, Scrabble Junior changed the color of the back of all their letters.

Monopoly Junior, the lemonade stands and game pawns have changed since the last edition I had... and they have the same copy write year.

It was Hi-Hi Cheerio that put me over the edge. It used to be, well, cherries and now it's all sorts of different fruits.

And then to make matters worse I bought a new Connect Four and the colors of the checkers changed.

Here is my "on the other hand". It is interesting to see the changes in games over time as society changes. Monopoly is a great example of that. The interesting thing about Monopoly is that with all the different versions and editions there are, the most drastic change happened only recently after almost 75 years of being in production.

Here is Monopoly in 1933, 1934 and then the Electronic Banking Edition in 2008.

Two things can be said about this. One of which is really, who cares? Who the hell notices this stuff (except for toy librarians and archivists.) Adults buy these games for kids once usually. And then they have them until the kids are done. They don't have to replace them within a year or two (usually) so they don't see the changes happen.

The second is to mention why it matters to me. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to keep games functional when the pieces keep changing? I have 4 game boards for Candy Land but only 2 in circulation. This probably means that over the course of the years, there have been 5-6 in the collection. Pieces get lost, broken or stolen, it happens all the time. But the great part about having a 25 year old collection of toys is when that happens, if we are lucky enough to get another copy of the game, we have back-up pieces. UNLESS THEY KEEP CHANGING THEM! Because, and this is the point. It isn't that they change them at all. It's that they change them often.

New (to me) Toy!

2010-03-17T15:36:00.000-04:00

Found this toy brand and I thought it was pretty cool...
Weplay

Blog Crush

2010-03-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

I found a new blog crush... Margot Magowan. She writes a lot about girl-empowerment books, toys, movies and other media.

SF Gate Blog

ReelGirl

Boy Toys-Girl Toys

2010-03-01T16:10:00.000-05:00

I was going to do this whole well researched blog entry with statistics and quotes from scholarly journals. And then I realized that just wasn't my style. I figure I had no early education-toy-children training when I began this job. I learned as I went, from experience and observation. I will never claim to be an expert on anything, but this is something that I know.

Let me begin this by saying that one of my biggest pet peeves in here is when a mother or father says to a boy: "Don't play with that, it's a girl toy". The other pet peeve is when someone asks where the "learning toys" are. THEY'RE ALL LEARNING TOYS. Children play pretend. They create their own little world. It is one way in which they learn about the world around them. They look around their life and repeat what they see in play. If they see Mom cook, they pretend to cook. They see Mom with baby, they find a doll and pretend they have a baby. This is how they originally learn how to do things.

This is my hypothesis. What boys and girls choose to play with depends on who is around them and how they genderize toys. Let me preface what I am about to say with I know I am going to the extreme here. When a mother/father/provider, etc. tells a boy not to play with the kitchen, you're telling him not to cook. When you tell him a baby doll is a girl toy, you're telling him not to be a father. And I fear they keep these lessons throughout childhood, what to play with and what not to play with, more than anything else.

Here is another tidbit, just an learned observation of mine, and by the way it's kid of an AH-DUH. Boys and girls play differently. For the most part, I can leave a group of girls in the toy library without hesitation. They are just going to continue playing dress-up, or kitchen, or games, whatever. They won't even notice I'm gone. On the other hand, unless it's a select few guys, I can't leave them alone. They get all wacky and crazy like. Between the basketball hoop, bikes and scooters, they won't stop moving. And while they may or may not notice if I am gone or not... they are just more volatile than the girls. They show their "appreciation" for their friends differently. They will probably wrestle before talking. And they get so mad at me when I tell them to stop.

All of this is just about the energy the kids have and how they need to express it. I have noticed more and more (especially around this time of year) that there is an abundance of energy in these kids. I want to bottle it up and sell it. I can't, but we still need to do something with it.

Eco-Friendly Toy Brands + Stores

2010-02-22T17:55:00.001-05:00

I am siting in a room with 5000 toys. One of my biggest fears is that one day every electronic toy in here will turn on and begin blaring, singing and talking to me. I am not a huge fan of toys with batteries. I don't think they really need to blare, sing and talk. For a very short period of time we had a Dora the Explorer Kitchen, it taught you Spanish. That toy didn't bother me as much... Just like the computer or reading toys (i.e. Active Pad). They have batteries and make noises for a reason. This is what I don't understand... toy trucks speak to you and trains move on their own. In some doll houses, the toilets actually make a flushing sound. And don't get me started on the new Monopoly with debit cards.

Here are some more Eco Friendly Toy options....

PlanToys
Large selection of wooden toys.

Eco Toy Town
Eco Choices is a web based company focusing on natural solutions for the home. They have a fairly large selection of toys.

Kid O
This is a store in NYC... They seem to have there own brand of toys as well as selling other brands. Many of the toys were wooden and looked Eco-Friendly.

Sprig Toys
This a a toy brand I have recently discovered. They specialize in eco-friendly, battery free toys. They have a great selection of pretend play wooden toys.

Information about Pink

2010-01-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

"At one point pink was considered more of a boy's color, (as a watered-down red, which is a fierce color) and blue was more for girls."

"An American newspaper in 1914 advised mothers, "If you like the color note on the little one's garments, use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention." [The Sunday Sentinal, March 29, 1914.] Found: Google Answer...

PinkStinks-Organization to "challenge the culture of pink"

Out of the Toy Box

Power of Pink- Article that post is in reaction to...

Coming up next (a.k.a. whenever I have time): Girl toys/Boy toys

Taken from Play Stuff Blog

2010-01-14T12:41:00.009-05:00

Barbie gets a lot of slack. This little article, Barbie, You're Beautiful, it was kind of nice to see that she is important.

Jon Stewart Toy Hall of Fame Inductees

2009-12-14T23:15:00.003-05:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Windowless News Van for Kids - The Ball

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

My Favorite Toys

2009-12-02T13:02:00.000-05:00

I tried to spread it out a little bit and pick toys from all over the spectrum (baby toys to active play toys), but my opinions are a little biased towards the puzzle-problem solving toys. Enjoy!

Connect Four
BESTEST GAME EVER, (in my opnion of course). This is a game that I just don't get sick of playing.
P.S. Last year my ma bought it for me for Christmas... I am very competitive :-)

Mr. Mouth

This is my favorite game to play in here. I find that children will watch as I play it and then all of a sudden there is a line and competitions. It definitely hold their attention for quite a while.

(Bonus is that it helps with small motor and aiming skills)

Marble Runs

The one pictured here is a generic brand but the ones I am most familiar with are made by Discovery Toy. I love that they (again) are multi-faceted toys. They are creative, small motor skills, problem solving and FUN!

Corn Popper Push Along
This is a completely classic toy (to me). I wish more infant/toddler toys made real noises instead of the electronic sounds they tend to make now.

Triazzle Puzzles

The first time I found these it took me a day to solve it. Considering I am a puzzle addict, that says something.

Flexiblocks
I saw that they actually still produce and sell these and I was uber-excited. I played with Legos as a child also, but these were just better because they could move.

Wedgits

When these were donated to the library the woman told me that it is an ageless toy, that small children as well as teenagers would enjoy playing with them. After she left, I played with them for an hour. It's a great item to teach stacking and nesting, but (i think) that they are better used creatively.

Wooden Train Sets

This one happens to be Melissa and Doug (a favorite brand), but i prefer wooden to plastic in general. I also think that they are used more often when a table is involved and the same set-up is used all the time. Though I do like how creativity and problem solving are used in creating and completing different tracks.

Playhut

I know this is a brand and not just a toy, but I couldn't choose one!

The Preface to My Favorite Toys

2009-11-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

I have been working here for just about 4 years. I've had mom's tell me I should be a toy consultant, and sometimes, I don't think that's too bad of an idea. I love toys and playing. And I think that I have gained an amazing knowledge about toys, especially in how they have progressed over time. That is because many of the items in the toy library are the part of the original collection, when it began almost 25 years ago. I can see how many toys were ahead of their time.

Discovery Toys, for example, it's a great brand, highly trusted, but also, the toys are just different than others. They are multifaceted. For example, the Measure Up Cups aren't just stacking and nesting cups. They are also numbered, have animals engraved on the bottom, can be used for patterning AND they are volumetrically correct. I know a child may not appreciate all of these qualities, but the adult buying them sure does. Any toy that can teach more than one concept is pretty great, in my opinion.

I've seen Fisher Price change dramatically. Not only in their Little People brand of toys but also in their infant/toddler toys. In this collection, we have Little People that are small-wooden, small-plastic, chunky-plastic, "realistic"-plastic... For a short period of time I was seeing another version of Little People that were flexible, but they must not have lasted long. What also has amazed me, is that when you look at the small Little People, they were not multicultural, there was just white. Now they have a better representation, they even have Hanukkah play set (as well as a Nativity Scene, Christmas and Kwanzaa). The infant/toddler toys used to be very simple, and now they are electronic and noisey. They count, they say the ABC's. They speak Spanish! It amazes me.

Now that I have waned nostalgic about different toy companies and my love for them, I'll get to my point. I think I know toys pretty well and I know how the children interact with them. So in my next post, I am going to chose some of my favorite toys in this toy library. I do not have the most rigid criteria, by the way. Some are my favorite because because I know children love them, some for their educational purposes, and others, well, I genuinely like playing with them still :-), I think that says something.

News From the National Toy Hall of Fame

2009-11-18T11:21:00.000-05:00

I read this today on Strong National Museum of Play's blog...

"So, it’s a great thrill to celebrate this year’s three new inductees to the National Toy Hall of Fame—the Ball, Big Wheel, and Nintendo Game Boy ."---Play Stuff Blog

P.S. I have to say that it's pretty exciting to see the game boy in the hall of fame :-)

The Best Toys Lists

2009-11-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

Parent's Choice
This list separates games from toys which is nice...and I find it's a little more family friendly (duh!) than the Oppenheim list below.

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio
This award is kind of a big deal. They also chose awards in book, audio and dvd. They organize by age group and have lists of "the best toy" for each. They chose less mainstream toys in my opinion. I have quite a few items chosen over the past few years in the Toy Library.

About.com Toy of the Year Award
This one is a little more commercial, but still a detailed list.

Games turning into movies...

2009-11-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

Story from Rotten Tomatoes...

THE PLOTS OF THE BATTLESHIP AND MONOPOLY MOVIES ARE AS BAD AS YOU'D EXPECT
Story details have emerged in the last week or so for the "board game movies" Battleship andMonopoly. First up is Battleship, which will be about an "international" five ship fleet engaged in an intense battle with... aliens. And those aliens will apparently shoot giant red or white plastic pegs, I guess. Filming of Battleship starts next spring, and the movie is expected in the summer of 2011. As for Monopoly, the premise as detailed by producer Frank Beddor is quite lengthy, but the gist is that it's about a "comedic, loveable loser" who tries to break the world record for the longest game of Monopoly, and instead ends up in the world of Monopoly City, where Monopoly money is real and the world is ruled by the evil Parker Brothers, with whom the comedic, loveable loser engages in a series of "sight gags" to defeat them. Maybe it would be impossible to come up with plots for movies based on board games that wouldn't sound rotten, but that's sort of why until recently, people didn't make movies based upon board games.

Just some observations...

2009-10-31T12:12:00.001-04:00

I've had a weird couple weeks here. Nothing new or amazing...Just settling into the Fall. It's slow because of school being back in session. And since, for a while there, it was still nice out, it was like the children's brains were tricked into thinking it was still summer... I've noticed it takes a while for their "clock" to adjust. They would be trapped in school all day long and then come to the library... where they would not only drive me insane, but also the librarians (and on a good day, even the circulation staff.) At least then we were all affected.

I don't like yelling at kids. Actually, I really despise it. I don't want to be angry ever because this is a happy toy library, not their home and not their school. I don't want to be a parental force in their life, which is why, this is the first thing I am going to mention. How much should we have to handle? The 'we' I am talking about is professionals, working in a community place, in which we deal with children and their families. Say the children are mostly unsupervised (like here) and the people who work here are their grown-ups for the time they are in the building. How much should we put up with behavior wise? I'm okay with the occasional "Don't do that"..."Please take turns"... "Stop being so bossy"... and my all time favorite "No tattle-tailing!!!" But what if you are mediating situations with children ALL THE TIME? If it's back and forth "He did this"... "She's about to hit me"... "Why aren't you yelling at him?"... Do we have a choice to be a "parent" here? The Library OUR home, it's our work place, we have our rules. What happens when the children stop following them?

And this is where I get to my second point. Say the children stop following the rules and they are just "bad". They disrespect the staff at the library AND they make the toy library an unsafe place to be (for other children and families/adults). Those are my 2 bottom lines. As long as those lines aren't crossed, you'll pretty much be okay in my book. What do we do with those "bad" children? Do we talk with the parents? Do we demand they be supervised at all times? Do we kick them out of the library for a day? A week? FOREVER? What happens if we lose them from the library? What happens if they get in trouble and they don't come back because... (I'm having a hard time not taking the blame for what I am about to say)... they are being yelled at/ getting in trouble with, one more grown-up in their world. What if it is worse at home? Or in school? What if them being in the library after school means they don't ever hang with that "bad crowd"? Or that they're not home alone until their parental figure(s) get home from work. Could we teach them to be better?

I've known a child here since he has been around 6 years old. I can't pretend that I don't pick favorites because I do (and everyone knows it). He has always been one of my favorites. He turned 10 this year. He is smart, really smart. He tells the new kids the rules and he follows the rules. He helps me clean up and he is just a good kid. I want to know what he is going to be like in 15 years. It would be amazing to see. The thing is, this past summer, I saw myself starting to lose him. He hangs out with different boys now. He started breaking the rules. Getting mouthy. He wasn't being a good kid. And it's all because of who he hangs with now.... because once in a while I'll see a glimpse of that kid I used to know when he was alone. Not to make it all about this one child but... How do I not lose this kid? And how do we not lose the ones in the future?

Jealousy :)

2009-09-24T12:45:00.000-04:00

I have Toy Library jealousy... Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library

The Passion of Toys

2009-09-23T11:15:00.009-04:00

"Finishing a jigsaw means you have restored something that was ugly and useless to begin with" -From the book review of The Pattern in the Carpet By Margaret Drabble.

My most favorite thing in the world is when people talk about their work and what they're passionate about. I have heard many stories from engineers, musicians, librarians, and the best of all, cooks. I have friends that are cooks,waitresses and a couple that have been to culinary school. Some of the best conversations I've had in my life were about food. It wasn't just about the eating or the cooking... It's the art form of both.I would hope that anyone who has chosen a career would have some passion for it.

While reading Drabble's book review a thought occurred to me. I rarely put into words why I love what I do. I share stories about parents and silly questions. I talk a lot about the naughty kids that come in here. Friends of mine know them by name or instance. But I don't know many other people who can talk about toys, games and playing with passion. It's probably why I keep it in, not many people can relate to it. Maybe it's because we were supposed to leave all that stuff in our childhood.

But I'm growing up with these toys...

This place has become as intertwined with my life in as it has with the people who come into it. I have been apart of some family's lives for the whole 4 years. The babies I first met are in pre-school this year. I have met mothers, seen them through their pregnancies and now can watch those babies run (not walk) around this library. I have watched children from this neighborhood grow-up. I try to have this place grow-up with them. I talk about the children in here like they are my own. They're my babies. I feel awful when I have to discipline some of them. Well, I have mentioned some of those things. This is what I think I forget to talk about...

Toys are amazing things. They are a unit of communication, they bring people together. Children are able to make up their own world, games and rules-with toys. Their ability to play freely is a something I take for granted. I forget that all kids didn't have the childhood I did with the safe streets and kids my own age to play with. The streets aren't safe around here. They are becoming the best versions of themselves in this room. This is where they have the ability to be themselves. There are many educational things I could say here as well, but that just isn't my style. I'm not a teacher, simply a toybrarian.

Back to school!!!

2009-09-02T12:40:00.001-04:00

Today is the first day back to school (most city schools at least). It has been completely quiet and stress free... Only a few parents and their children... AHHH....

This is the happiest day of the year at work... Now I have to clean up the 3 month mess... (ICKY POO!)

In this moment of quietness

2009-08-19T15:01:00.002-04:00

I am listening to a older brother teach his younger sister how to play chess right now. It's one of those sweet heartwarming moments. He has to be at least 16 or 17... The girl is probably half his age. He is being very patient and she... well, she has the most confused look on her face ever. I don't know how to play chess. So part of me is amazed that this young child can even remember all of the rules. They are all baffling to me. (I do however play a mean game of Connect 4)

I needed to witness this moment this afternoon. It's a mess in here. It was very busy this morning. And now there are just these two in here, quietly playing. This doesn't happen often enough, this is what this place is meant for.

Random Miscellaneous Donations

2009-08-13T14:14:00.002-04:00

So at work yesterday (while away at lunch), I received 4 boxes of donations. I know I have gone into my rant about "not-so-good" donations before and I won't do it again. It was some dress-up clothes which were cool, some funky purses and an Easy Back Oven. Those were the highlights. The purses and clothing are now in one combined box. Those will stay.

And then there was this bag hidden in a box. It was chock full of randomness. It was a lot of McDonald's toys. It was pieces of toys, toys that once probably belonged to a set, I don't know. It was the bag of brightly colored plastic. It was amusing to say the least. So I had a fashion show for the toys and took pictures. I uploaded them into this Photo Album for your viewing pleasure.

It was a slow day, that is my only excuse. And by the way, these extra donations is what makes me love this job so much.

Day 3, 4 &5

2009-08-10T16:46:00.003-04:00

I came in on Thursday and Friday but they were such short days that I didn't think they warranted their own entry.

Thursday: I made an "Open" and "Close" sign for my 2 doors. This means I made a word document and printed them out, traced the BIG letters since I was making a BIG sign. I don't think the bold option on Word makes it bold enough... I colored them in as talked with random children and teachers who came in.

I talked with my boss for a little while. She is supportive of any BIG sign idea I have which is nice. We talked about a child who was here the day before. He is misbehaving... but generally a good kid (I was told). We are very lenient with children. Mostly because we want them to come here, we want them to have some place to go. But the different conversations I've been having since then about this child (and other children) have all lead to the same question... How far do we let them go? How many times do we let them misbehave? How do we correct the behavior without kicking them out of the library? We all fear that we will lose them from the library system.

Friday: I came in for 2 hours. I dumped out mess behind my desk and attempted to organize it. I honestly don't know if I accomplished much since there is still mess. It looks a lot neater though...

Monday (today): I have already been here for 7 hours. I'm going on 15 something children in and out of here unsupervised... And I wonder why I haven't gotten anything done. I've finished up the signs... That's it. I don't like days like these. When there are 5-10 kids in here at a time and I am the only adult paying attention to them it is impossible to do anything else.

A mother came in with her 3 children in the late afternoon. This is when there were about 10 kids in here without a parent. She asked my most favorite question ever. Gently, quietly, politely, she asked "Where are there parents?" I wish I knew. I had a hard time explaining it to her though. And this is when I have to have different rules... If the unsupervised kids are getting in the way of the Mom, or being too wild around her children, they have to find something quiet(er) to do. This also goes along with the little kid/ big kid rule. Little kids rule the roost. They always win. Big kids have to stop what they're doing to allow the little kids to play.

During my lunch break I was outside for a moment with one of the clerks taking in the humid weather. 2 cops pull into the parking lot. Immediately we smirk and joke around that someone called them again. Children/ Teens have been making a habit of it, making 911 calls from the pay phone. It would have been all good and fine if the cop hadn't gotten an attitude with us. He assumed we didn't work there... once he figured it out he did change his tune though. Just another day in the neighborhood.

I have 40 minutes before I go. I am going to attempt to clean up the room but I'm thinking my chances are slim.

Day in the Life: Day 2

2009-08-05T10:29:00.003-04:00

10:00 am: Walk into work and fill out my time card (tomorrow is pay day! Woohoo!)

10:05: Attempt to open my door for the Toy Library and it's stuck... finally get it open and realize the construction guys were working on it yesterday and added a piece that forces the door to shut. That would be all fine and dandy IF they added the kickstand part at the bottom of the door. The cleaner found something to wedge underneath for now. I still fear it will randomly shut.

10:10: I then realize that since my door was moved into the middle of the library, I have no signage. It's just a blank doorway... kind of boring. So I wandered around the library saying over and over again I needed a BIG sign. I took the toy library sign out of the window for now... but eventually I want a banner of some sort to go over the doorway.

10:15: Check my e-mail, see the job posting I've been waiting for. I printed it out and then within 15 minutes the children's librarian AND my boss printed it out and brought it to me. Should I be taking a hint? Ha!

10:30: Decide to make copies of the instructions for the donations I did on Monday. It took me like 4 tries to get them to copy correctly on our new fancy copier... but then i cut them up, stapled them together and put the originals in the filing binders.

My volunteer came in around this time and stayed until 12:30 or so. We sat at the desk, she counted toys to make sure the bag/ game was complete and we chatted about whatever has been happening the last week since she came in. I tried to get a few things out of my bin, counted up a backpack set... ate a snack, read a few blogs. You know, the easy stuff.

1:30: Not sure what the rest of the day is going to entail. I'm waiting on a group now... I'm energized enough to do some cleaning and organizing, but I fear I'll be interrupted halfway through because my lunch break is in 30 minutes...

2:40-5:30: After returning from lunch the day has been a random blur of chit chat with a teacher, random children who have come in, and the mess that is my desk. I cleared off the desk itself and put to use a fancy new wooden organizer. Behind my desk is a whole other story. I have bins of toys and half filled bags of toys. Every single toy in the bins go somewhere, that is the reassuring part about all of this. It's just a matter of finding where...

Tomorrow I need to talk to graphics about my BIG sign idea.

Day in the Life...

2009-08-03T11:58:00.005-04:00

So, many Librarian Bloggers are logging their days at work to show how multi-faceted our jobs are. Though I am starting this project waaay late, but it's better late than never. I needed an excuse to keep blogging... and I never know what to say about this place, everyday seems the same in the summer. So a day by day would be good for me, just to get me back in the habit, if nothing else. I haven't added my info to the wiki yet, but I will tomorrow :)

10:00-11ish: Walked into work with coffee in hand (on time!), and I see something in my mailbox. I have 2 printouts from people's cards with problems. One recently had a child, and I mentioned to her in passing that I would help her out with renewing the toys if she thought would forget. Well, she didn't take me up on the offer, but now that she has fines on her card she wants them cleared. Great. The other printout was much easier; toys had been brought into the library but not returned in the computer.

See a pile of toys that were returned over the weekend, bring toys from circ desk to the toy library. Halfway back boss lady starts a conversation with me. Asked her about medical emergency and waiving fines... And I got a hesitant yes. Walk into toy library with toys, try and put some away, put others into an over flowing bucket of toys needing to be counted. Still deciding If I want to count toys in bucket or now.

Log onto computer, take care of patron problem #2, check e-mail and see nothing. Meaning I don't see a response about a grant I worked on, received the money, put a toy order in and never received toys. Annoying. I then get distracted on facebook looking at pictures. It’s a good thing I can’t played bejeweled at work… listen to a couple songs on yahoo as I clean up desk.

11:00ish: Over an hour in and still quiet in toy library. Begin an e-mail to woman with overdue toys. Construction and maintenance guys come in to work on the hallway. I will actually miss the guys when they finish up, they have been kind of fun to have around.

Toy Doctor comes in to drop of toys he’s fixed. He left grumpy because a tractor he had just fixed, broke again. It was my fault, couldn’t even blame it on a kid. I took it out of the bag and dropped it on the ground… wheel broke right off. Ooopsy.

11:30: Group of children comes in with a provider. She immediately walks out to bring something to her car, while gone 2 girls need to pee and they’re all whining at each other. Whine to children’s librarian about patron problems.

11:45: Open up Google reader and read Unshelved comic. Very amusing. See Day in the Life of a Librarian blogs from a couple different people, get inspired and begin writing. 12:15: Take a break, get my water bottle and make iced tea. Coffee really isn’t doing it for me lately. Weird. Decided to work on donations while I have the quiet time... It would be nice to clear off some shelf space.

1:15: Class from the attached school comes in. While finishing up the small batch of donations I chat with the teachers.

2:00: 8 kids come in without parents and play games. 10 minutes later I leave for a lunch break. I left a page with the kids... Poor Aderlin.

2:40: I come back from lunch and I am impressed...the room is in good order. 8 more boys are in here playing basketball with a summer camp.

2:45: Hear a camp counselor tell a kid he wants to choke him. Great. I want to start another project but there are too many kids in here now. It's distracting. 5:30 Room emptied out around 4 from the summer camp. I attempted to put a few toys together that were missing pieces. Boss lady walked in around 5 and commented on how quiet it was. NEVER say how quiet it is. Within 20 minutes a group of 6 children came in. They are kind of rowdy but they aren’t doing anything bad enough where I could kick them out. They’re mouthy. 5:52: Got the kids to somewhat clean. I’m done working for the day… unfortunately there are still a few minutes left….

Progress...

2009-07-06T13:22:00.003-04:00

The Wall is Gone (Part 2)

2009-06-19T12:23:00.005-04:00

The hall before...
The wheel is now in limbo, we're deciding we're to put it.

No more wall...
Side view, the two rooms at the side are now one.

And then the wall came down...

2009-06-17T10:34:00.004-04:00

Getting to work today was a bit of a hassle. I'm tired and I was kind of running late as it was, then I couldn't find a spot in my lot because of a bigwig staff meeting so I had to park on the street. Coffee in hand I walk in kind of confused... a wall was missing. This is the funny part about working for a library in such a large system. You plan things for years and years and they may or may not happen. There are meetings every week and brainstorming and the moving of furniture and books. And then you wait. For a very long time... you wait for the plans to fall into place. And then all of sudden you walk into work and the wall is gone. So I knew this was happening eventually, but I had no warning it was going to happen today... It feels like the whole world is upside-down-turned-around.

There was a wall that created a hallway leading to my toy library. That wall is now gone to make more room for the teen center. Next they will move my doorway into the middle of the wall... maybe about 10-15 feet to the right. I think that I'll have more visibility to the library so all in all its a good change.

On another note... 1 week until school lets out. I am not prepared in the least (mentally or physically). I still have to clean up the shelves so old mess doesn't get in the way of new mess. I still have 100 bags missing pieces. And then last but not least I have many donations to put into the system.

I need an IV of caffeine.

New Toys!!!

2009-06-10T10:09:00.002-04:00

The Toy Resource Center has new toys!!!

Over the last couple months we've received 2 large donations from The Pirate Toy Fund. We have a lot of new outside toys for those hot summer months coming up and a brand new batch of games for the icky rainy days. Come in and take a look!!!

Games

300 WISHES GAME

LITTLEST PET SHOP GAME

ZIG ZAG

SPEED STACKS

APPLES TO APPLES- TO GO

CRANIUM-CADOO

SCRABBLE JUNIOR

HI-HI CHERRIO (NEW)

MONOPOLY TOWN

IMAGINIFF

HORSE SENSE

RUSH HOUR

IN A PICKLE

DOINK IT DARTS

TARGET DARTS

KLUTZ BOOK OF MARBLES

GRAB & GO MEGA MARBLES

BOOBY TRAP

OTHELLO

TIP-IT

MAGNETIC SNAKES & LADDERS TABLE

PICTIONARY JR

NEW YORK STATE IN-A-BOX

PAYDAY

SPIROMANIA

ZINGO

OCTI FOR KIDS

SCATTERGORIES

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL TWISTER MOVES

DIAMOND EDITION SCRABBLE

3 STONES

DELUXE BINGO CAGE

LP BINGO WITH EDDIE

MINITURE BOWLING

ZIGITY

DUCKS IN A ROW

SNOUT

SLAMWICH

SNAP

CHESS & CHECKERS

LABYRINTH

Outside Play Toys

OCTOPUS WIGGLE

HOVER DISC-SPONGE BOB

RING TOSS

T-BALL WITH HOME PLATE

LIGHT-UP BATON

PACKAGE OF 3 SPORTS BALLS

FOOTBALLS

JUMP ROPES

FUN BOWLING

FOAM BAT & BALL

T-BALL SET

NERFOOP

DELUXE GOLF SETS

JR. LACROSSE

GALAXY BOWL- JUMBO FUN GAME RUG

BOXING GLOVES & PUNCHING BAG

SOCCER BALLS

2 PC PLAY SOFT BALL

Other

MARBLEWORKS-WILD RIDE

CHUNKY PUZZLE-CONSTRUCTION

3D WORD PUZZLES

PLAY PEGS- ON THE FARM

BUSY POPPIN PALS

POPTUNES BIG ROCKERS GUITAR

TUMBLE TREE TIMBERS

LINCOLN LOGS- ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANCH

MOBILO

PHONICS TILES

SPELL & MATCH

Workshop?!?

2009-05-02T11:06:00.002-04:00

I was approached recently by a woman in charge of UPK programs in the Rochester area. I believe we had talked before. I would love to say I remember the conversation, but I talk a lot with everyone who enters this room, so I don't. I must of made an impression because she came in asking if I would do a workshop for teachers. I explained to her than I had no education background what-so-ever... that I was just a librarian. I just play with the toys, I joked. I attempted to further explain that there was someone else who could better do it, but she seemed prettty keen on me speaking. I am enthusiastic apparently.

Two realizations came out of that conversation, one was already known, but it was nice to be reminded. This place is important and what I do is important. I should never say again "I'm just a librarian..." Because I am more than that here. Every person who has worked here as left their imprint, I am lucky to be leaving mine.

I watch these kids grow up! I saw a little girl walk for the first time the other day. The mother pointed it out excitedly for me to see. I rememeber when the mother first told me she was pregnant. I remember the first time she was brought in... I have many stories similar to these. There are two little girls who come in and they are so shy, they barely look at me, let alone speak to me. Their mother told me that they each have dolls named after me. Lately I have also been getting presents from a little girl. First it was pictures of horses and the latest is a beaded bracelet with my name on it. It is sitting on my desk around the neck of a Jack Sparrow smal plush doll. It makes me giggle :)

The second realization was... it would be good for this place to have workshops again. It would be good for me to get out there and speak about this place. I have horrible stage fright, unless I'm talking about something I love... It's easy for me to talk about this place, what it does, what I do, because it is so natural. I don't have to write things down or awkwardly say "um..." every 3 seconds. I would need help to fill in the blanks about the whole education value thing though. Everything I know, I taught myself here.

Unsupervised Children

2009-02-16T13:30:00.002-05:00

I read an article in my local newspaper yesterday about children being unsupervised this upcoming week since they're out of school for February recess... At first I was a little annoyed, but after looking at it again I think I made peace with it. The first thing I see is a headline about "unsupervised children" and then a picture from the area that I work in. It was from a rec center down the street from the library. I think that it over-generalized which population of children were being left alone to wander the streets. And then I was kinda peeved that this is not news. This is not a new thing that just started happening- kids being unsupervised all over the city and needing some place safe to be. Then today when I looked at it again I took a step back and realized that maybe this is news to some people.

"It's not a world where kids can be playing outside like they used to. ... Unsupervised after-school activities are not leading to anything productive."
---YMCA President and CEO George Romell

Read the article here...

I have been working in this neighborhood for over 3 years, so not a whole lot surprises me anymore. I may joke around about being an overpaid babysitter often, but I wouldn't have it any other way. For example I opened the Toy Library at 11 AM on Saturday. By 11:10 I had 10 children in here ranging from the ages of 4-10, and I was the only adult figure in the room. This is pretty normal for me and the other staff at the library. People ask me where their parents are all the time. And the simple answer is "Not here". They don't get it. Neither do I, sometimes. But at least they are here and not freezing their butts off outside, or getting into trouble, etc. And that is the bottom line for me. Even if it does mean that I "babysit"

Even Games Become Movies....

2009-02-05T13:01:00.002-05:00

Universal Pictures is sweet on "Candy Land."

Studio has set Etan Cohen to write and Kevin Lima to direct a live-action feature based on the enduring Hasbro board game.

Blog post from Out of the Toy Box

2009-01-28T10:39:00.001-05:00

"We have for a number of years been losing children. First we lost the boys to computer games. Then we lost the girls to cell phones and other Tween delights. After that we lost the Dads as those Mario playing boys grew up and had children of their own."
Read the rest here....

I just started reading Richard Gottlieb's blog. There isn't many blogs out there about play or toys so I was happy to find it. He has great insights on the toy market... plus we kind of have something in common. We would rather promote the use of board games than electronic gaming devices (like Wii)

Just a little of this and that....

2009-01-17T12:54:00.004-05:00

I just told a boy to get off a car that he was standing on (to get a toy off a higher shelf) and he told me I was causing trouble. This kid has the ability to twist it around every time I discipline him. Like I am the one in trouble! It is half defiant, half guilt trip. It is truly is amazing. I don't know where these kids get it from, the lack of respect. I want to know where the respect went. I had the fear put into me when I was a child. You never talked back to an adult, EVER! And it is not just at this library or in this neighborhood... I have noticed it everywhere.

I am receiving a grant from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation to buy new physical active toys for the library. I had a volunteer who is grant savvy help me apply for it. She did an amazing job, as did the grant writer in our main office. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. So I get to buy stuff to give away to families, centers, schools and providers PLUS I get quite a bit of money to buy new items! I spent it in approximately 5 seconds through Lakeshore. Yea! More tricycles!

I love that I am getting new toys that promote physical activity. The whole reason I was so passionate about applying for this grant was because I have noticed a high energy level in kids after they have been in school all day long. They need to be able to release it in a safe place, out of the cold and off the streets. The library is it. So I have begun to try and clear some space for kids to run around more. They are pretty much allowed to do whatever as long as they’re not getting hurt, they’re not hurting someone else, my collection, the shelves and they are genuinely being respectful of the room (and me).

Games- What a novel idea!

2008-12-31T16:38:00.001-05:00

I read this article yesterday in the American Libraries magazine. On one hand I'm like "Oh great games are getting recognition as part of literacy" on the other hand I say "DUH!" Why is this concept so new?

Sidenote: I really really want this game for the toy library :)

GAMING GOES MAINSTREAM

Gaming of all types continued to gain acceptance in libraries, and librarians are asking increasingly sophisticated questions about the ways they can use games. ALA TechSource’s second Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium, held November 2– 4 in Oak Brook, Illinois, explored gaming as a tool to achieve myriad goals, including improving literacy, inspiring academic interest, building bridges across generations, and raising money. Statistics helped to back up gaming’s advocates, with research from the Pew Internet and American Life project indicating a link between gaming and civic engagement among teens. ALA, meanwhile, launched National Gaming Day @ your library November 15, with free copies of Hasbro’s board game Pictureka sent to every public library in the country, and ALA’s Annual Conference featured “California Dreaming,” a “big game” that participants played by interacting with their physical surroundings.

American Libraries(CB). American Libraries (Volume 39, Issue 11, December 2008).

Chicago, IL, USA: American Libraries, 2008. p 40.

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ala/Doc?id=10255361&ppg=42

Actual Conversation

2008-12-29T10:51:00.002-05:00

Girl: "Why does this toy keep talking to me?"

Me: "Because you keep pushing the button"

Girl: "I think it's mental. Maybe it needs to go to the hospital"

Article from Babble Magazine

2008-12-13T13:31:00.000-05:00

Toy Libraries: An Idea in Need of a Comeback?

Posted by Amy Kuras

Since we’re apparently – at least here in the cradle of the car industry – blowing right past “recession” into raging depression (in every sense) I think toy libraries are an idea whose time has come again.

In San Diego, a toy library started in 1937. Works Progress Administration workers (part of Roosevelt’s New Deal) cleaned and repaired 2000 toys that had been collected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Many of them came from a department store that had burned down.

The first toy library opened at an elementary school in the city, and soon there were 9 within the city of San Diego and 14 around the county. More than 5,000 children were registered. There was no charge to join, nor were there overdue fees or damage fees. Instead, if a toy was badly damaged or overdue, children lost borrowing privileges for a certain time. In between uses, workers would clean and sanitize the toys for the next user. A certain number of toys retuned on time earned children one toy that they could keep.

The idea was that being responsible for the borrowed toys helped build character. It was also thought to lessen juvenile delinquency, because children would not steal what they could borrow.

This was back in the day where children didn’t have very many toys, unlike today’s kids. I think in this economy, this could really help families ot save – after all, how often do you buy your kid a toy that’s their favorite thing for like a day and then just sits? This would be a great way to try out toys and see what’s worth buying, and would be so great for families that can’t afford high quality toys for their children.

Donations

2008-12-11T12:04:00.009-05:00

So yesterday I began the process of cleaning off the donations shelf. I had bins there from a month ago and after I looked through them, I remembered why I was avoiding them. I probably had 2-3 boxes of random pieces, a few games and Elmos.

I can't decide which of them wins on the obnoxious scale... but both make me giggle. The Elmo Loves You has these sweet little heart eyes that light up when he sings. The second one is called Check-Up Time Elmo and it kept asking me to check it's boo-boo and help him blow his nose. It freaked me out a little. I have seen infants with toys like these and they seem to share my hesitation with them. Even my dog (a very fierce Shih Tzu named Murphy) knows better. But older children (a little older than the toy's intention by the way) love them! This is why I have a small collection of talking/ laughing/ singing Elmos behind my desk. I can only take so much. There is already a Sesame Street toy that sings the character's songs that I put up with. I hear them in my sleep.

Anyway, back to the point. Donations. Last year around this time a woman came in with her 2 children and about 10 months pregnant with her 3rd. This was only her second time there and she brought her father with her. A couple weeks later she came in again bringing in 2 of the 2007 Hess Trucks, saying that her father was so impressed by the place he wanted the library to have these. I was so completely touched by the gesture. It showed me that there really are just good hearted people out there, especially around this time of year. A few weeks ago the woman came in again after not being here since last winter. She gave me a hug and re-introduced me to all three of her children including the newly walking infant Daniel. She brought her father in again with her and with him he carried the new fancy 2008 Hess Truck. I got a giant smile on my face and was again reminded of the simple nice deeds that we can do for others around us.

I love that people care enough to give back to the community and give me their children's old toys for the library. They are giving away part of their childhood and it will be recycled over and over again into someone else’s childhood memories. That’s fantastic. And then there are the other people who give me pieces of toys. I have a large bin on wheels for people to carry out items to their car. It is big enough to put a Cozy Coupe and a teeter totter in, so it’s pretty big. It was full of miscellaneous pieces and toys. I cut it down to about 20 pieces in a small bin. I just threw away a large box and am giving away 3 smaller boxes to boss lady for giveaways. It was so much work to go through them though and I would never say it isn’t worth it, because sometimes I find those odd little treasures. But honestly, and I say this with the best opinions at heart, it was crap. It was pieces of toys that my OCD brain could not handle. But you know what? Children that come in here, that my boss will give these to, will probably love them.

Now only if they would take the Elmos away.....

Karma

2008-12-04T12:27:00.006-05:00

Two mothers came in the other day with their (combined) 5 children. They have been coming in for at least 2 of the 3 years I've worked here so I know them reasonably well, enough to joke around and begin random conversations. Anyway, one of them has a little girl and she just cracks me up. Maybe she reminds myself of me when I was that age, or how I imagined myself to be... I'm not sure. But she's cute as a button, has no fear, climbs on the tops of tables or shelves when she wants something. So I laugh, every time. Just like when the kids come in from the school next door... they come in running and screaming and every single time I crack up.

Karma is going to kick my butt one day, I guarantee. I am going to have children one day and since I have spent the last 3 years laughing my butt off at kids, mine are going to be sooo naughty. I just have a feeling.

I must go grab toys now for a workshop being hosted here this evening. And by the way I found out about it yesterday... Somehow me and one of the pages got this entire room clean and beautiful!!!
((It won't last)) Ha!!!!

Let's try this again

2008-12-01T13:03:00.004-05:00

I always think about continuing to write in this blog but quickly get lost in piles of toys (work). So I am officially attempting to put effort in. Instead of cleaning up the room, I sit here in slight disgust with my OCD twitching and catch up on the happenings of being in a toy library.

It has been busy. VERY busy. But the circulation doesn't show it. All I know is this place is always a mess and I can't keep up with the donations, returns and straightening up. I try. I drink my red bull and try.

There is a new group of children coming into the library after school and on weekends. I like to call them the naughty bunch; individually I call them all trouble. I may be adding to their complex... I'm not sure. All I know is that they come in here and disrespect every other child and adult in here, myself included. After telling a child to get off a bike since he was too big for it he told me he was going to punch me in the face. I go home twitching. Officially. It's bad enough that the Elmo song is stuck in my head a majority of the time, but now every time I hear a crashing sound I look up in despair hoping that one of my shelving units isn't lying on top of a child.

The point is... I want to know when children became so disrespectful. When the adults stop caring? I don't mean to generalize, because I have met plenty of great parents and children. I have moms who come in here that I absolutely adore, children also. But then there are some days where I am amazed I didn't have a conniption fit in the middle of the room and crumble to the floor crying. That is dramatic. I am trying to teach these kids that I am indeed not the enemy. I just have rules in the toy library because I have to. Because I don't want them to get hurt, I don't want my toys to get hurt and most of all I don't want to yell at kids because they feel the need to climb all over my shelves.

The What I Did This Week Post

2008-07-16T11:34:00.004-04:00

All of these things probably happened in the last week. Honestly my days are consistently blending togther more and more. With my hectic schedule, I can't remember what i wore yesterday.

I am finishing up my MLIS in 3 weeks. Right now I am taking two classes. Both professors seem to think that we don't have lives. Oh well, 3 weeks left of the summer of schooling. I wanted to say hell, but I genuinely like being in school so that wouldn't be accurate. I just bombarded myself with stuff.

Not only am I busy with school... it is summer here at the Toy Library. It hasn't reached chaos yet, but it has had its moments. Summer camps come in in addition to the centers, families and providers that already come in. So there is large massive groups... then silence. I have watched counselors/ teachers/ babysitters (whatever they would like to call themselves) be completely engaged with the children as much as I have watched them completely ignore the kids. I try and just sit here and not interfere. It isn't my place.

Anyway, here are some memorable moments:

Providers (women, both in their 50's) play pictionary until they realize the kids made a horrible mess. Upon me saying they might need help because they dragged kitchen sets across the room, they did finally help the kids out. This makes me happy.

I pretended to be a Teen Librarian, talk with 10 kids about what books they like to read or want to read. One 13 year girl says she likes to read Junie B Jones. She was embarrassed and nervous when I talked to her.

I was probably pretending to be cool when I was talking with the teens. I got nothing to back it up though.

I am working short days (9-1 instead of 10-6) and I fear that I am missing out on some patrons coming in. I genuinely miss them.

I can't find the $1 bills for the Dogopoly game.Or the $10 bills for the Astronomy Monopoly.

After putting the food sets back together for the third time I officially took it off the shelf until fall. I'm over it.

I cleaned up the games, it felt good to see straightened shelves for a day.

A counselor (grown man) came in for state toys, "do I have a Mexico puzzle?"

What I did today

2008-02-09T14:31:00.000-05:00

A lot of people don't understand my job. Sometimes it is my fault, I act like I go to work and play with toys. That is only because it is the fun and simple way to describe it. It gives people the better idea of what a library is (or could be) if I tell them I play.

Let me tell you about the things that have been happening lately. Some of these things may or may not of happened on the same day, but they definitely could of, none of them are random occurences.

Beginning of the day....
Come in with coffee in hand, within 10 minutes a teacher and a group of parents come in unannounced asking for a tour. I gave them the most lively one possible considering I had to put my coffee down.

I check the guestbook and make sure it matches up to my memory the day before, this lets us know exactly how many people use the library and who they are (Family Child Care Providers, Teachers, Parents, etc....)

Within a half an hour I hear a child's screech from the hallway (there is a Child Care/UPK center next door...) The children then run in even though they were told to walk. I laugh at this every time. I take my poptart and red bull out of my purse, it is officially breakfast time.

A volunteer may or may not come in and help me count up and shelve toys, this is sometimes a lengthy and tedious part of my day depending on what kind of busy we are.

Some days I'll see up to 45-50 kids and their adults within the next 2 hours. My average is about 20 kids/morning depending on the day. Either way, I don't leave my desk, it would send my OCD a little over the edge.

There is always a lull around 11:30. This is usually when the ADD kicks in, when it is quiet. When the afternoon session begins at the center next door they come in again, usually only about 10 kids, they play and I chat with the teachers, eat goldfish crackers and check in with blogs. I am addicted to quite a few... Mo Willems consistently entertains me with both his picture books and doodles, and Annoyed Librarian always gives me a chuckle. There are many others on my subscription list to keep me reading.

Before my lunch at 2 i usually try to get something accomplished besides making sure all their toys are counted up (and chatting of course). This varies from processing new toys, sorting through the miscellaneous bin of mess and dealing with toys that are missing peices. Depending on the importance one of these things (how big the pile is, annoyance level, boss complaining that my desk is a mess, etc) at least gets started before I leave for the day.

After lunch coincides with the time that children are beginning to get out of school. The afternoon is either insane or quiet depending on the day or people who come in. There is rarely a happy medium. I do have to say that parents are the majority visitor in the afternoon. And this is often my favorite time of my job because I know them. I typically know all their names if they have been in more than twice.I talk with mom's about children and toys and whatever else may come up.... they're my mom friends. They welcome speaking to an adult for the first time all day and I enjoy getting to know their family.

If the children know my name, i will probably hear it approxiamtely 100 times over the course of the day. Depending on the child they may or may not put my into overdrive. I mean really, how many times can you hear your name in a day and not go crazy? The questions that follow are equally and mind bending... I need that toy with the 3 balls you can see through?... i need the toy with the elmo... why can't i play with the basketball?... is this a ball?... how about toys that start with the letter Q?... Some how I come up with answers to each of these.

Clean up is my least favorite part of the day. I will only do it once a day. I wait until about 5-5:30 depending on the mess, I'll finish shelving and clean up at the same time most days. This is so when I walk in the next day there is nothing to do but begin. When I say clean up by the way, it means cars that kids can ride in are usually straightened up and there isn't bags dumped out on the floor. This is the minimum, I either have to have a lot of time of a OCD fit to clean up much more than that on a daily basis. You just can't... It will only get messy again, after about a year I figured it out. As long as I am able to find the toys and walk straight too them it's good enough. About once a month I hit each of the sections though to give it a thorough cleaning, making sure the toys on that particular shelf belongs there, straighten up, etc.

I leave 8 hours after I came in... turn off the lights and put the toys to sleep.

Job Appreciation

2007-12-15T12:38:00.001-05:00

There are little things that float around in my mind after I leave work at the end of the day. Later when its quiet I'll think about them and this silly smile will appear my face. Its little things that happen that make me appreciate this room and mostly what it does for people.

A little 3 yr old girl who I've known for almost 2 years but just started speaking with me 2 months ago came up to my desk with her mother and simply said "como estas?" when i replied "muy bien, y tu?" she was a bit taken back. She was so happy I understood her. Later I showed her mom the new spanish puzzle cards, maybe it will help.
A classroom came in for the first time last week. The children impatiently sat in front of my desk as I attempted to explain the rules. One little boy stood and showed me the toys in his pocket while his other class mates sat there murmuring to themselves "I have toys at home..." I love it. They made the connection.
I have large sets of legos in tupperware containers. These sets don't get counted, they just float in and out. One boy will check out the sets and return both the set and then on top of the set in a seperate bag is what he built. He likes it when i put it on display.

Once in a while these things happen all in a week and I know that this room makes a difference, I'm just helping it along.

What Librarians Need to Know

2007-12-15T12:34:00.000-05:00

http://www.brandtobedetermined.com/brandtobedetermined/2007/10/gn-what-should-.html
I thought this post was pretty awesome, as a soon to be librarian it’s nice to hear what we will need to know in the future.

One week in a Toy Library

2007-12-15T12:33:00.000-05:00

“Toy libraries must drive librarians crazy…all thetypes and parts with no real way to organize thecollection. Maybe that is what we should use to testnew DLIS people coming into the program. If they canwork one week in a toy library they will be allowed inthe program. Hum? ;-)”
-John Ellison
I recieved this remark today from a professor on an assignment. I had to take pictures and make atleast 10 reccomendations for a non-book service as part of a library. It was hard considering i made recomendations for the place i worked-I was judging the rooom at the same time i was judging myself as someone who is in charge of the room. It’s hard to be objective.
I believe what he wrote though, this room is chaos personified. Everyone should have training in an non-book environment, all LIS students should have to see the oppisite of a library before they work in one. This room is everything a typical library isn’t.
Perhaps I’ll post the assignment later on.

Web 2.0 Video

2007-10-17T01:23:00.000-04:00

Web 2.0...The Machine is Us/ing Us (FINAL)

Add to My Profile | More Videos

non-book unbelievers

2007-10-15T17:01:00.000-04:00

I attempted to find smart articles to put in here, i went through one database and came up with basically nothing. I was disheartened.

I read one article about how great this children's room was at some unnamed library. It was great now only because it had gotten rid of their toy collection in the library. They had done this by choice, you know because toys had too many pieces, there was a constant mess and the librarians had become over paid babysitters. I have these thoughts every day i walk into this room, but its part of the library, now its part of me. That sounds corny, but I care.

The perspective the article was in was a printist perspective. She was happy to get rid of the toys because they weren't books. It's a library, people should read. Thats what she thought. But what about 1 year olds? They can't read, they can listen, but the words have no meaning, they would much rather be shaking a rattle.

There is an attitude towards non-book materials. You can see it in how the collection is handled. Unless they are movies and cds, they are hidden in corners or in filing cabinets. Look around the library, my room is the corner of the library, no one knows its here until either their children run back here, or there is a sign by the hallway leading to the door. Maps and pamphlets are hidden in drawers, art work put into a corner, the list could go on. There is little or no budget, the collection depends on donations and volunteers. The only way to prove themselves is with use, videos have done it, toys are next.

Back into the groove of things

2007-10-10T12:28:00.000-04:00

It is Fall.

It feels like Fall, the numbers look like it. Low number of people coming in, low circulation, people getting back into the swing of life with the new school year and season.

I clean up for my Fall project. I am halfway through. I start behind my desk where messes of bags and toys pile up from July-August. Sort those out which is an exhausting process of counting, recounting, replacing, changing labels and not caring how many animals are in a farm set (for example). And now I am venturing onto the floor, cleaning the sections. Then all of a sudden finding those little loose pieces that I worked so hard to re-label and replace. And then it comes full circle, everything is found and I smile, maybe laugh a little.

The world doesn't feel so chaotic then.

before the kids

2007-08-15T10:17:00.000-04:00

When i walk into the room i can tell immediately if someone (groups of kids) were in here while i was gone, from Monday to today it usually isn't bad, there is only one day inbetween. Its the Wednesday to Monday that is a little more worrying. But surprisingly, even though the tell tale sings are there, the room is clean. Straightened at best, as it has been for the last 2 months almost. School begins again in 3 weeks, summer programs are coming to a close so it will be quiet here again... well our version of quiet.
After last summer i thought i was going to get a quiet time of year, I figured out it doesn't really happen. There were a few weeks in the Spring where it was dead, it was inbetween the moms and the day camps. And it was nice... I got other things done. But it will be interesting to see how long it will take me to recover from this summer. I have bins and bins of messes, shelves that are crammed with toys, because even though we are so busy, circulation is waaay down.

And now i sit here, I'm sure only moments before kids arrive and i breathe it in like candy sweetness. I take a look at the guestbook, make sure it is up to date, haven't yet began to look at the pile of toys next to me that need to be counted up and i know that i could do anything today, i make somewhat of a plan for what i need accomplished, take a quick glance at the bins of mess behind me and then turn around, knowing i am not ready...yet. 3 more weeks til i can clean up.

Here are numbers from last month. it was an amazingly busy month. I gage it in how many children played in here, while others look at how many adults checked out toys. We reached a new high: 692 kids. Last summer's high was something like 498. And that is mostly summer camp kids, so the only time they take up is after they leave, when we clean. The other part of my job is dealing with returns and charges and since that is mostly parents and home care providers, that part is a little slow.
Here comes the kids....

first day back

2007-07-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

I was gone for a week in the hotness of florida summer. I expected to come back and find the place in complete disarray. But even though it was chaotic by the look of the guestbook there is a new volunteer and he did a fantastic job cleaning up the place...I am sure there are messes hiding.

Last Wednesday at the height strung-outness i was checking someone out and heard 3 girls yell 1-2-3-4... by the time i looked up there was monopoly money flying through the air and the girls stood there giggling. i said "seriously?!" then joined in with their laughter, because what else could you do? a second later i collapsed on the floor in hystericallness. I couldn't yell at them, they picked it all up... though i am still finding money scattered about. I found a large quanity today stuffed in a purse with the dress up clothes. When i went to put it back into the game i found it was checked out. Of course.

I am the Toybrarian

2007-07-11T17:36:00.000-04:00

I work in a toy library. The collection is about 5,000 items that can all be checked out. It is also a play room. Childcare, day camp and home providers can all bring there children here to just play and explore.
We are open 2-3 days a week and I work 15 hours a week and I am in school to become a librarian. I will be the first one to say that I have the coolest job in the world, While it is part of the public library system here, it is in a world (room) of its own. The same rules that apply to books don't seem to apply here. There is no shushing preschoolers as they come screaming in, the bags of toys do no fit neatly on the shelves and there are random stacks as you wander through. The chaos is on the brink of unbearable, 50 yelling kids, my OCD going through hell cause i can't clean up until their gone... but then there are the days where you have that moment with a kid- the moment of discovery, where they find something new, learn something new and that is why i come back everyday.
There are things you care about at work. Things that you only worry about there, that affect you there. Like I'm sure Dentists worry about teeth products, Grocery managers worry about shipments and truck drivers running late. At work today the things that has driven me up the wall is that kids have dumped out bags of food toys, then put them back in bags but not the ones they came out of. In no other world would i or anyone else be concerned about that. Part of me wants to give in to them, let them have chaos. But knowing that its a mess makes me cringe, makes me feel lazy for instead sitting here and blogging. Instead I sit on the floor during quiet moments and methodically put the right pear with the right fruit bag, because there are many versions of plastic fruits ya know, and certain ones have to go together. Not that the kids care. I care. Because it is the librarian in me-to archive the toys. To collect and keep them in their original form. Because I hope one day someone will care as much as I.