CENTERVILLE, Ohio — Busy parents now have another way of trying to get things done with the kids. An area library just put in a new playpen, desk combination that allows you to multitask. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Woodbourne Library in Centerville recently installed a new desk for parents that's attached to a playpen 

  • The library's director said they used a $5,000 grant to pay for the desk and are considering getting more 

  • Anyone can walk in and use the desk, but the director says there is a one-hour time limit during busy times 

Marissa Zavakos is a busy mom of three kids all under three-years-old and she almost always has her hands full, but she says the new desk is helping to take things off her hands.

"When parents come in, we can't hold on to little ones like her or this one wants to run or like my Maverick is running around, and I have things I've got to get done…like putting them in that little room would be genius,” said Zavakos. 

The desk for parents is attached to a playpen big enough to fit all three kids.  

“In situations where you have to bring them with you. I think that this is actually really great because for little ones like especially the baby that keeps them confined and it keeps them safe because it's there's nothing in here that can hurt them,” said Zavakos. 

The Woodbourne Library in Centerville recently had it put in after library workers saw a need. 

“I frequently see people come in with a little one in a stroller strapped in a stroller, and they're using a computer in one of the adults, one of the adult sections. The little ones get restless when they're, you know, confined for too long and it's distracting to the parent,” said Washington-Centerville Public Library Director, Liz Fultz. 

It’s the reason Fultz said they used a $5,000 grant to pay for the new desk.

“Since the pandemic there are a lot more people that are working from home trying to juggle between work and child care and so we feel like this is really just beneficial to anybody that is struggling with that,” said Fultz. 

She said the family workstation is now a part of a much bigger area in the library designed specifically for kids and families. She said they may be adding more of these desks depending on how much it's used, and whether parents say it's working, but Zavakos says they don't even have to ask. 

“I can just bring some little toys, it’s great,” she said. 

The library director said anyone can walk in and use the desk at any time, but there is a one hour time limit during busy times.