Check out the new toys at the library—literally!

• caterpillar

Photo by Naomi Yaeger /nyaeger@duluthbudgeteer.com Elliot Anderson, 4, pretends a toy caterpillar is crawling up his shoulder while visiting the downtown Duluth library with his mother, Elizabeth Anderson.

Talk about it

A caterpillar clings to a preschooler’s shoulder and creeps onto the boy’s mother. Tools sit on a shelf waiting to be used, while a baby sits, needing a hug. No, it’s not a day in the park, but in the children’s section of the library in downtown Duluth, where there are new toys waiting for children to check them out and take them home to play with them.

The Duluth Library Foundation received a grant from the Duluth Legacy Endowment Fund to purchase more than 100 toys, ranging from games, dolls, cars and “tool” kits. Of these, 64 can be checked out for two weeks. The rest of the toys can be played with in the children’s area.

The library’s circulating toy collection is a wonderful public service, said Patra Sevastiades of the Duluth Library Foundation: “Most public libraries do not have toys, games, and puzzles that can be checked out.”

Carrie Boberg visits the library with her children about once a week. “It’s great — we’ve done it in the past,” she said of borrowing toys from the library. “It helps keep less stuff at our house and it keeps it more interesting.”

Judy Sheriff, a youth services coordinator at the library, said that the library has had toys for more than 30 years. “Kids learn by playing,” Sheriff said. “When they have tea parties or pizza parties, they are telling stories. It’s all a precursor to being ready for school.”

Sheriff said many parents hang out while their children play and the library has become a community space for families to connect. “Grandparents use it too, when their grandkids come to visit, to have toys without breaking the bank,” she added.

The Duluth Library Foundation submitted the grant request to replace its tattered, incomplete, or otherwise worn-out toys, dolls, games, and puzzles. “We are grateful to the Duluth Legacy Endowment Fund for being a community partner with us and the library,” said John Kelly, vice president of the Duluth Library Foundation Board.

The downtown library is located at 520 W. Superior Street. For more information visit its website: http://www.duluth.lib.mn.us, or phone 218-730-4200.

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