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PLAYSCAPE IDEAS FOR CHANDLER PUBLIC LIBRARIES CREATE SPACE FOR CHILDREN TO PLAY, READ, UNLOCK IMAGINATIVE PLAY, AND INTERACT WITH THEIR PEERS. The grant funded toys, dress up, and kitchen materials bought in the past few years was a great start. However, many of them are showing their wear and tear already and are not always available. Play items are also spread out around the library. There is no cohesive theme or central location for young readers to go and explores. I had the chance to visit the Spokane, WA Library (2 branches) this summer which had recently undergone an entire refresh of their library branches. A 3rd one was planned to open the week we left and I saw previews of it online. Each branch had a northwest theme for their playscape area (made of wood), and the areas had imaginative play items that were bolted to the structure so there was little risk of it walking off. My kids played for over an hour in the Yeti themed area, roasting pretend marshmallows, and camping out in their tent. Then my daughter brought some new books and settled into a bean bag chair to satiate her love of reading in a brand-new way. A different library had a climbing structure and slide along with farm stand and produce growing areas. All of the little kids who didn’t know each other beforehand had fun selling each other fruit and going picking. There were also nooks and crannies to read and find some sense of privacy. My daughters aged 7 and 4 thrived in these library environments which included books and a chance to imagine and play. Chandler is such a vibrant community full of many young families and busy libraries. I would love to see more imaginative play areas dedicated to these children. Themes for the branches of Chandler could include Desert general, Grand Canyon, Red Rocks, Ponderosa Pine Forest, Old West Town (Like Tombstone), etc…. These are some of my photos from our experience: From the Spokane Library Website: Central Downtown Library