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MATL is Toy Library of the Year 2022!

April 07, 2022

Can you imagine how excited we were to be awarded Toy Library of the Year (with paid staff) at the National Toy Libraries Australia Awards 2022?

There were many other worthy candidates from around the country, including Collingwood Toy Library who were awarded runner-up at the ceremony. We feel incredibly proud to be recognised for the hard work that our librarians Megan and Emma, along with the committee, have done over the past year.

The judges commended our ability to quickly adapt and keep providing our service to the community throughout the hard lockdowns and uncertainty of 2021. Our Click & Collect service, which ran throughout most restrictions, was hugely popular with our members, and we were also able to provide home delivery for families who had to isolate at home. All of the hard work and effort was worth it though, as we received continuous positive feedback on how it was the highlight of people’s weeks to be able to give their children new play opportunities, even though they were stuck at home. Borrowing toys really was a lifesaver for families in 2021, particularly during the periods when playgrounds were closed and daycare, kinder and school attendance was restricted.

The committee played a valuable part in our ability to stay open, looking for new sources of funding to fill the gap from an inevitable drop in membership, helping to support click & collect operations and taking the opportunity to update the online toy catalogue so that members had a seamless click & collect experience.

We also worked to strengthen the bond between our library and the wider community through social media posts with at-home play ideas, and take-home activity packs available for everyone, not just our own members.

Thank you to Toy Libraries Australia for this award, and thanks to all staff, committee, volunteers and members for your support!

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