A Guest Blogger

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

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

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

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!