Little Library | State Library of SA | Review

Wander into a world filled with imaginative play, hidden stories to be discovered and fun around every corner at the State Library’s ‘Little Library’!

Review by Angelica-Hazel Toutounji

Over the weekend we visited the opening celebrations of Little Library, a dedicated space for kids inside the State Library of South Australia. Before going into all of the details, I have to say, our family fell head over heels in love the moment we stepped foot inside and the kids are begging to return!

Walking towards the library entrance, the eye-catching colours of the Little Library were sprawled all over the pavement in fun hopscotch designs, on a creative face decorating game and plastered on the entrance. Inside the building there was ample pram parking and directions leading us into the Little Library section.

Little Library is decorated in bright, fun colours with pops of stripes, pattern and fun little features that are a delight to discover. Multiple books are positioned throughout the space along with comfortable seats to curl up and get lost in the magic of a story. Vintage toys are displayed throughout the space as well as one of my personal favourite elements, a doll modelled after the late, great, Dr Jane Goodall. I almost missed this element but found her on the left-hand side of the space hidden next to a reading room.

There is an entire section filled with musical instruments which were very popular with kids of all ages. There were guitars, cymbals, drums, maracas and everything you need to create an impromptu band and find your own rhythm. Right next door we found a soft play section where kids could build their own castle and sing along to the verses displayed on the screen. This section has a strong Kaurna language element filtered throughout and is based on the premise that songs support us to remember words due to their structure and repetition. We loved this area as the kids are learning Kaurna words at school and this area allowed them the freedom to create their own play space whilst listening to the songs and hearing familiar words.

Moving into the centre of the library we found a table where kids could put together their own block pattern, scan it and wait to view it on the big screen. This was calming, creative and cute and we all enjoyed it. We also noticed a big mural where the kids could find a number of frogs hidden in plain sight. This was eye-catching and sweet but also had strong South Australian elements woven into it such as the Malls Balls, the Kangaroo Island ferry and numerous Australian animals.

We then popped next door to the Pull Pop Push exhibit, which is also a must visit! Then we headed upstairs to add our mark to the little library portrait wall, dropped into a live storytelling session of “Is this a plum” book and made our way to the Mortlock Wing.

The official opening weekend featured a mid-day disco filled with colourful balloons, a live DJ spinning tunes and a soft play area set up with a slide, ball pit and some ride on toys. It was such a fun touch and the perfect way to end a fabulous afternoon. We already found the Mortlock Wing to be awe inspiring and magical but experiencing a disco in this area was certainly an experience we will remember for quite some time!

From start to finish we loved our visit to the State Library of South Australia, checking out Pull Push Pop and experiencing the incredible new play space, Little Library.

What we like about it:

• Honestly everything, this place is so much more than a library!
• We loved the colourful design, multiple play features and the whole set up just entices you to explore and play.

Things to Consider:

• Understandably Little Library will get busy during peak times so plan your visit accordingly. They also try to limit the amount of prams in the space so take a baby carrier if you can.

Our favourite nearby coffee spots/cafes:

• There is a cafe onsite – The Library Cafe

Location:

You can find the State Library of SA on Instagram and Facebook.

DISCOVER MORE FAMILY FUN AT THE STATE LIBRARY

EXPLORE THE STATE LIBRARY’S MORTLOCK WING

EXPLORE NORTH TERRACE IN ADELAIDE

For more information and all enquiries please visit the State Library of SA website.

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently. All photos are by Play & Go (August 2026).

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