This Librarian Wants Parents To Stop Asking For Indoor Playgrounds At Libraries

These cold, dreary winter months are brutal for parents. Being stuck inside with kids (at literally any age but specifically toddlers) can feel like the 7th circle of hell. They’re either whining and bored to tears or bouncing off the walls. Parents are constantly looking for indoor facilities for kids to blow off some steam like trampoline parks or children’s museums.

The problem lies in the fact that these kinds of third spaces cost a pretty penny — and with multiple kids, there’s just no way to go to indoor play spaces multiple times a week without going broke. That’s why free play areas (think: Chik-Fil-A indoor playground) are such a hot commodity. Some parents are even begging their local libraries to start having indoor playgrounds inside them, but libraries are not having it, and rightfully so. Why? Put simply, hat’s not what a local library is for.

Molly Fleck posted to X, begging her local library to open an indoor playground. She wrote, “I am once again begging the city to open indoor playgrounds at public libraries. My child needs somewhere to burn off energy without getting frostbite, and all the private indoor trampoline parks and such are SO expensive.”

The discourse quickly took off with several librarians recognizing Fleck’s dilemma and that parents are in desperate need of more affordable third places with playgrounds — while also noting that libraries are not the place.

“It's clear people want (and need) more free third places. But that doesn't mean tacking things onto the only free third place left. Just because a library *can* have an indoor playground doesn't mean it *should*,” X user and librarian, Alex Brown in a lengthy thread, detailing how this issue is way bigger than a local library’s amenities.

Others weren’t so understanding of Fleck’s request and proceeded to drag her. One X user replied, “Hell no. Libraries are quiet cathedrals of literacy. Take your loud, exuberant children, put coats on them, and do outdoor winter activities...or is that too much work for you? You chose to have them, YOU find ways to entertain them. Go sledding. Build snowmen. Shovel.”

After thousands of replies to Fleck’s original post went viral, the conversation moved over to TikTok where more librarians chimed in with their thoughts on this disagreement including Abby (@24hourlibary) who shared her thoughts on parents and libraries.

“Libraries — public libraries in the United States specifically — are already doing too much with too little,” she began. “We don't have enough budgets. We don't have enough staff. We often don't have appropriate facilities to work with. In a lot of ways, we are already trying to navigate this difficult walk of making sure that there are quiet spaces for people to work while also being an appropriate place for children to learn and grow and yes, to some extent play.”

She goes on to note that in a post-COVID world, libraries have become so much more than just a place to check out a book. They are now a third place for social gatherings, mental health services, and even COVID testing.

“In a lot of talk about the death of the third space, and what we need to do is create more third spaces, not transform the ones that already exist to the detriment of the people working there,” Abby concluded.

She captioned the video, “There is so much more to say about this, but let’s start here: your public library does not need to have an indoor playground. Your public library needs partners that can offer the services and facilities that they can’t.”

Several users commented on the video agreeing with her sentiments while others accused librarians of “hating” children. In a follow-up video, Abby went on the defense with more reasoning on why indoor playgrounds in libraries might sound like a dream to parents, but for librarians, the idea would be a nightmare.

“First of all, to put a playground in a library, not a play area ... in a building that already exists is extremely difficult and extremely expensive. Most of the library facilities, I am willing to bet my year salary on are not equipped to install a facility like an entire playground in an existing building. It just can't be done,” she explained.

She also points out that librarians are stretched too thin already, teaching tech classes, organizing COVID protocols, and “the story times, the craft clubs for kids, the book clubs, and all of the different childcare functions that we end up providing.”

“ And we all know that if a playground is installed in a library, who is responsible for making sure that things are going safely? Who is responsible for keeping an eye on the equipment and making sure that it doesn't need maintenance?” she asked.

You guessed it — librarians!

“None of this is to say, like many have been suggesting on Twitter that librarians hate children or that we're lazy and don't want to do anything, or just any other number of the ridiculous accusations we're hearing. It's just that it's not practical and we're already doing so much,” she concluded.

Despite her very valid argument, parents still chimed in, with one saying, “Our libraries have indoor playgrounds and it has been so amazing for my family and many other families I know”

Another parent wrote, “We’re just desperate for safe spaces that don’t have high paywalls. Can’t properly play in apartments, can’t afford memberships. We’re scrambling 😭”

A local library is the best third space, but a local library needs to not be the only third space, constantly having to evolve and change to meet the needs and expectations of the public. A library needs to just be a library with story times, a craft table, study rooms, and old men reading the newspaper.