Abstract:

The objective of this study was to raise an awareness of toy libraries, which have been applied in the world since 1935, gained acceleration in Turkey in recent years and make important contributions to pediatric development by means of providing toys to children. Study findings were formed by reviewing the literature and compiling the information acquired from the official pages of present toy libraries. Even though some centers that are generally opened within the body of schools and public libraries where toys are gathered are also called toy libraries; centers that have no official web pages, are indicated in the definition of “toy library” in the world literature and do not contain the system of lending toys were excluded from the study. Toy libraries are organizations that contain appropriate toys and game materials for pediatric development, inform young children and their families about games and toys, provide consultancy and educational activities and operate according to the system of lending toys, which contributes to pediatric development. Target group of toy libraries is children in the early childhood. As present toys in libraries are selected by professionals and make positive contributions to pediatric development, toy libraries are considered an important alternative source for providing game environments and game materials to children as from early childhood.

Keywords: