Frequently Asked Questions

Vision

The Western Port Bay community are able to access high quality toys and play equipment that encourages children to develop whilst having fun and saving families money.

Purpose

To promote and enhance the value of play.

Sustainability

We are sustainable and provide low cost access to toys that encourage the local community to reduce their environmental impact through borrowing shared resources rather than buying.

Inspire Play

Play is a big part of children’s development, learning and wellbeing and we provide toys, support and opportunities to encourage different types of play throughout a child’s development.

Community

Community is at the heart of what we do and we welcome all members of the family to play and share toys together.

Either online by filling out the form here or in person during the toy library open hours. Payment can be made by EFTPOS or direct debit. Please bring ID the first time that you borrow from the toy library. If you have opted for a Concession membership, you’ll need to bring proof of concession eligibility.

Our memberships (Full, Volunteer and Concession) allow each child in a family to borrow up to 3 toys. Group memberships allow 10 items to be borrowed.

Members assisting with volunteer duty are able to borrow 1 extra item on that day of duty.

Items (excluding party hire items) can be borrowed for up to 3 weeks and may be renewed if needed. All party hire items can be hired for up to one week.

Payments can be made by EFTPOS or direct debit.

Our account details are:
Hastings Toy Library Inc.
BSB: 633 000
Account: 138438254
Reference: Your name

Please make sure you have emailed your receipt to htl@mail.org as proof of payment!

Once you are signed up as a member, simply choose your toys and puzzles and take them to the checkout stand. The toy codes will be entered onto your membership page in SETLS (our membership portal). A loan receipt can be issued (either via email or viewable via your database logon details).

We ask that all toys are checked when you get home (before playing) to ensure all toys are complete. Please email us within 24 hours hours if there are issues.

Yes – we accept donated good quality toys provided they are:

• Toys suitable for children from infant to 10 years of age
• Durable and easy to clean
• Easy to transport in a car
• Complete puzzles and board games
• Spare parts such as Little People, plastic balls, blocks and Lego Duplo.

We do not accept donations of Anko-brand items, or soft toys or dolls as they are difficult to clean.

Homemade handcrafted wooden items will be considered if they meet the approval of the coordinator and committee. All donations will be approved by the committee to ensure that they meet the values of the toy library.

If there are toys that the committee has decided are not appropriate for the collection, you can either donate to an op shop, or if the toy is in very good condition, take it to Kids Warehouse in Carrum Downs. The toy library will receive store credit if the toy is deemed suitable for them to sell. This will give us another avenue to purchase toys for the toy library.

We offer a Volunteer membership alongside our Full fee paying membership to keep our services available for a broad range of families. We ask that any family paying a Volunteer membership completes 2 hours of duty per year. Duty can be the following items:

• Volunteering at a session. This is the most common form of duty where a member will be assisting by counting toys returned to ensure all pieces are accounted for. They may also be asked to assist with cleaning and relabelling parts as well. Children are welcome at open sessions provided they are supervised by their parent/carer.
• Assisting with repairing toys. This is a way to complete duty in your own time at home. This needs to be arranged with the coordinator.
• Providing useful services that may benefit the toy library, such as testing and tagging electrical items, IT support, social media or anything else that would be worth discussing with the coordinator.
• Undertaking reviews of toys or games. Currently, we like to show how our members are using our toys on social media. Three reviews equate to one hour. This duty preference needs to be arranged with the coordinator.
• Assist with fundraising opportunities or assisting with other community activities.

Currently we do not have late fees. If you are unable to return your toys when they are due, you can renew your toys for one more week or send an email to the coordinator and they will do it for you. We understand that families with young children are very busy and sometimes circumstances are out of your hands, so please let us know if you are having trouble returning your toys on time and require a longer extension.

If you can’t find a piece, you may be asked to borrow the toy for an additional week or so to keep searching for it. Most times, the pieces will turn up and the problem is solved.

However, if the piece is still missing when you come to return the toy, please let the coordinator know and this piece will be recorded on your membership details so you know to keep looking for it.

Once you’ve found the missing piece and returned it, this note will be removed from your membership details. If the missing piece is detrimental to the play value of the toy, you may be asked to pay to replace that part. Please discuss any missing parts with the coordinator, as the toy library may have spares to replace the missing part.

We understand that accidents happen and that something may happen to a toy. Sometimes they can be repaired or will need to be replaced. Depending on the age of the toy, a member may be asked to pay for a broken toy, calculated at the committee’s discretion. Sometimes a toy just reaches the end of its ‘playable’ life and may break after being borrowed.
Regardless, all breakages need to be discussed with the coordinator. If returns occur and a broken piece has not been discussed upfront, there will be correspondence from the committee.

Toys are much more appealing if they are clean – no one likes to borrow a dirty toy so we strongly recommend that all toys should be returned clean before returning them. Borrowed toys can be cleaned using disinfectant wipes, or by using cotton tips, a toothbrush and warm soapy water. Please do not place any toys in the dishwasher. All toys should be returned to the toy library clean and dry.

We provide a cleaning station at the toy library for the use of members – and we also have a Cleaning Guide available.

The committee consists of toy library members and is a constitutional requirement of the toy library. The committee makes decisions about the everyday running of the toy library, employs a part-time coordinator, helps choose new toys to purchase and runs events such as toy library displays, fundraisers and other invited events. The committee meets every 6 weeks. All Toy library members are welcome to attend meetings and encouraged to join the committee and get involved.

• Toys need to be returned clean. If you are returning a toy that is not working properly, please let us know so that it can be mended, retired or replaced.
• Battery toys do not have their batteries replenished by the toy library. You may like to use your own batteries. We assume all battery functions work with fresh batteries but please let us know if this is not the case.
• If you are borrowing a balance bike or scooter, your child must wear a helmet when riding it. This is the law in Victoria and a toy library insurance requirement. It is the parent/carer’s responsibility to supply a helmet.
• Your child must be supervised at all times whilst visiting the toy library. Please select age appropriate toys. Toys are labeled with age recommendations and safety warnings. Ask our coordinator if you need assistance choosing toys.