Ask Us

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and following direction from both the Federal and State Governments, the State Library of South Australia is temporarily closed to the public, and staff have been directed to work from home.

State Library staff will still be monitoring and responding to queries submitted via the Ask Us page during this period, but please be aware that our full range of services will not be possible at this time. 

During this closure period our Librarians can:

• Advise of State Library holdings, services, policies and procedures.
• Identify State Library resources for future use.
• Offer advice about searching the State Library’s catalogue and Home Access eResource databases.
• Answer reference questions using those resources available to us.
• Accept orders for high-resolution images (where a digitised version already exists) .

During this closure period our Librarians cannot:

• Access onsite collections (including any digitised and electronic resources available onsite only).
• Access files containing further information about the origin of collection items.

We are working towards establishing a live chat service, which we will launch shortly. 

We apologise for this inconvenience and invite you to explore our online resources and collections. 

Ask a Librarian

Ask Us a research question

Already submitted an online question?  Check an existing question

We will respond to online queries in 7 to 10 working days. If we are unable to complete your query during our closure, we will offer you the option of ‘pausing’ your query until we reopen.

Quick question? Call us

During the State Library’s closure, assistance via telephone is still available. Customers who call and leave a message with their name and number can expect a return call from a librarian on the same day (or next business day for calls received after hours).

Phone: (08) 8207 7250
Regional SA toll-free: 1800 182 013
Overseas callers: +61 8 8207 7251 

Mail your question

Unfortunately questions submitted via the postal service will not be seen and cannot be actioned during this period.