Storyville — Local services in Rossville

For the price of free, this facility is a wonderful boon to everyone in the surrounding area with young kids. My 1 year old gets so bored at home in the blink of an eye; thank goodness for Storyville, where there is enough variety to keep her interested day after day! I only have two negative things to say, and they can't fairly have any bearing on my rating, hence keeping it five stars: first, Storyville opened up the play space to kids above 5 years old only recently with the caveat that they are "helpers" to younger siblings/children. I do not object to this on principle, and in fact support it for those who utilize the privilege appropriately. I worked the Storyville desk at the Woodlawn location for a couple of years when the age restriction was absolute, and we had parents ready to fight us in the parking lot (no joke, one mom threatened this in so many words) because they were so incensed their slightly older child couldn't go inside. I get it. In a couple of years I will be a mom who has a child under 5 and another slightly over 5 who might still find interest together in the Storyville environment. However, presently being a mom of a toddling 1 year old, I find most "helpers" are running around playing bigger kid games and wholly ignoring their younger friends. To prospective parents, be aware of the possibility you may have to protect your child by telling someone else's kid no. They are not using the space appropriately, and worse yet, their caregivers are not enforcing the appropriate use, as is their responsibility.

This leads into my second negative point, which is the disappointment I feel looking around and seeing more than half the parents glued mindlessly to their phone screens while their children either run amok or are vying for their engaged attention. Storyville is not a McD's play place- it is an early learning, early literacy center where you engage in play with your little ones. I don't fault the staff for not cracking down harder on the rule-breaking smartphone use (who wants to exhaust themselves playing whack a mole when you know as soon as you turn your back, the phone comes out again anyway?). It just makes me sad. This is the state of the world. Our kids are studying us constantly, and whatever we give our attention to, they put meaning and worth in. By being on our phones all the time, we are portraying to them that the only thing worth being alive for is scrolling social media or playing dumb games. God forbid our kids see us texting and driving!! What example does that set for them? I fear for this upcoming generation. Why bring kids into this world if we are just going to ignore them? To that end, I wish there were a way to enforce engagement with your child instead of a cell phone, but I recognize there is no clean solution, and the library staff just do not have the energy or resources.

If you've hung on this long... otherwise, Storyville has been an awesome place for me to start teaching my child the importance of sharing, being gentle, taking turns, exploring, and engaging with her curiosity about how the world works. We will be attending for years to come! Thank God for Storyville, and thank God for libraries!! I couldn't do this mom thing...

UPDATE OCT 2024: Unfortunately after the recent "renovate/refresh" Storyville has been DECIMATED. They took down the wonderful mural in Toddler Bay and removed most of the toys. They EMPTIED the Baby Garden, put tile down instead of baby and caregiver friendly carpet and removed 90% of the great baby toys and books. It's STERILE. Toy inventory has been drastically reduced Storyville wide. They took out all the more comfortable disabled and senior places to "perch". This is no longer the warm wonderful place to explore and play that it used to be. WHAT A SHAME. Previous Review: Here is a fabulous place to keep the 2-5 crowd well entertained for a couple of hours. They get busy, especially on hot weather or rainy days, so get there early. Otherwise you will be on waiting list. Your kids 6 and up CANNOT go in, so plan accordingly. There is an exclusive area for babies under 1, which is gated and a welcome respite for caregivers with infants. The Rosedale one is much better than the one over on...

Love the place and it's a grate space BCPL created...my girls can spend over two hours playing there. Ideal for toddlers... older kids get bore and don't take care of the toys. The renovation was: new toys in the constitution area. New toys in the theater área and in the upstairs with a little fireplace. Yes the baby/only crawler's area is still getting updates with more materials and toys for them to play. They updated the bathroom and the diaper changing station. Honestly parents and kids will do wonders if they actually put the toys back where they found them. Even the staff takes shifts to clean and rearrange the space..... sadly, is never going to be enough if we don't...