New Delhi/Mumbai, July 20 - You've heard of book and CD libraries, but now comes toy libraries for young ones. The concept is fast catching on with parents in Indian cities as it provides kids with a learning avenue and is light on the pocket too. And entrepreneurs are cashing in on the trend.

Nishant Patel, a Delhi resident, has enrolled his five-year-old daughter Anya at a toy library. 'Anya does not like to watch television and buying toys every week is not an option. Children have a very limited attention span,' he said.

'They like change, especially when it comes to toys. I found these libraries an ideal world to help her connect with a wider world. Here she can discover new places,' Patel, who is also director of Pratham Educare Private Limited, an educational and counselling centre, told IANS.

The idea was conceived in Italy. The toy library issues you a membership card so that your kid plays with toys for free or at fairly low rents, just like other libraries. There are around 11 such toy libraries in India now and more are expected to be launched soon.

Some libraries allow children to go and play there while others have online services that arrange for a toy to be delivered home and then to be returned on a specific date.

Mumbai-based Tarun Jain was among the first Indians to launch such a toy library, Mind Gym, in 2005, soon after he got his degree from the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad.

'The idea to start a toy library struck me when I realised that the expensive toys and games that I bought for my daughter grabbed her attention just for a while,' he said.

'Instead of discarding these toys, my wife and I thought of starting a toy library so that children can get a chance to play with a wide range of toys they might not ordinarily get to enjoy or their parents can't afford to buy,' Jain told IANS.

He offers online services and has opened various branches in Bangalore and some Gujarat cities.