Lend & Learn Toy Libraries

Our Lend & Learn Toy Libraries provide a safe location in which young children and their parents can play with toys that develop their motor and cognitive skills. Our toys can be enjoyed at the library or borrowed for free. The toy libraries also provide opportunities for parents to link with other parents, both during our regular hours and at group events, like our popular "messy days."

Books and More Books
At every visit, our parent educators emphasize the importance of story book reading to infants and toddlers. To foster family reading, we give free books to our low-income families and offer incentives, like diapers, to families that participate. We have provided toys and books for more than 1,000 at-risk families from our original Columbia facility alone.

Locations

• 1010 Fay Street, Columbia
  • Hours: 10am-1pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
  • Phone: 573-777-1815 ext. 0
• 207 Park Ave., Columbia Housing Authority, Columbia
  • Hours: 10am-1:00pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
  • Phone: 573-777-1815, ext. 0
  • Our Park Avenue location is made possible by the generosity of the Columbia Housing Authority.
• First Chance has also helped set up independent lending library locations in Boonville, Fayette, and Centralia. We provided them with their educational toys. These toy libraries are located in space provided and staffed by the PAT programs in those towns. For more information, call:
  • Boonville - (660) 882-2744
  • Fayette - (660) 248-2124
  • Centralia - (573) 682-2014

Other Community Playrooms
Both Parents as Teachers and the Daniel Boone Regional Library have playrooms for young children. In addition, the library loans Play-as-Learning Bags.

Funding
This program is made possible by funding from the Missouri Department of Social Services through direct funding and through a partnership with the Boone County Community Partnership.