The Toy Library: Where play meets sustainability meets community

Posted September 19th, 2025

There was a pattern forming in our household: an influx of toys from birthdays and holidays, the fading interest in said toys, and an overstimulated mom to manage the unwanted stuff. As someone who is exasperated by the linear economy of Stuff, and always has sustainability in mind, this pattern was driving me nuts. 

We are loyal patrons of our public library system. We love browsing the hundreds of offerings, and bringing home the ones that pique our interest. Some books we love and borrow multiple times. Some, we bring home and discover we don’t love them. Some books we borrow and don’t end up finishing. And some, we love so much, that we decide to purchase a copy and add it to our permanent collection. 

I thought, “Couldn’t it work the same for toys?”

After some internet research, I found that while they are not exactly common, toy lending libraries do indeed exist! How exciting to find people who were passionate about the same things: 

• The cruciality and power of play in child development.

• Practicing sustainability by reducing waste.

• Community building through collective access.

Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any of these libraries in our area at the time (a couple of toy lending groups have cropped up in the DMV the last couple of years). 

I was hooked on the idea, and started trying to figure out how I could start one here in Upper Montgomery County. I started asking for toy donations from the local community (hello, Buy Nothing!). Clarksburg Church provided space and storage and more toys! And after recruiting my sons to help with cleaning said toys, taking inventory, creating a check out system, and labeling each toy, we have the humble beginnings of a Toy Lending Library. 

I hope you will come visit when you have a chance. With around 100 items and a handful of volunteers, there is much room to grow! I'm so thankful to everyone who helped to get the Library this point, and look forward to seeing where it goes.

Written by Stephanie Cheng.