The Murray Law Library was established in 1939 and named for Sir George Murray KCMG, then Chief Justice of South Australia, after he donated £10,000 towards the setting up of a library which he considered should be established by the Society for its Members. Sir George Murray died in 1942 and bequeathed his own collection of law books to the library.
Services Available
Today, the Library provides resources to the Society's Members, with staff who have extensive researching experience and can provide answers to a wide variety of requests. With a strong network of supporting librarians around Australia to assist with the retrieval of material, the Library can meet urgent requests to provide requested materials. Members can borrow books and have the opportunity to conduct their own research on the library computers using Westlaw AU, LexisNexis Advance, LexisNexis Red, and CCH IntelliConnect. For a complete list of online subscriptions available, please click here.
The Murray Law Library has a wide and comprehensive collection:
- Law Reports from Australia, England and New Zealand, on various subjects including Family Law, Taxation, Torts, Trade Practices and Environmental Law available in hardcopy and/or online;
- Historical Legislation and Gazettes from South Australia, including Statutes, Regulations and Hansard that are not available online;
- The Library holds a large number of commentary services and legal encyclopedias on subjects including Criminal Law, Family Law, Torts, Contracts, Succession and Corporations Law;
- The Library has over 2,500 textbooks comprising good practical and up to date Australian and English texts.
- The South Australian District Court periodically provides the Library with Associate Judges of the District Court Decisions. The most recent batch of decisions from 2022 until April 2023 have been uploaded, with decisions by Associate Judge Olsson until 21 May 2024 also available.
When using the Murray Law Library, you can take advantage of:
- Assistance with research;
- Supply of reference materials such as cases and articles;
- Personalised training in using legal online resources;
- Up-to-date and historical textbooks;
- The Online Catalogue to search the available resources; and
- A relaxing area to sit down and work in our premises on North Terrace.
Law Society Members can sign up for a free subscription to Lexis Red e-books/services:
- Civil Procedure South Australia
- Criminal Law South Australia
- Australian Encyclopedia of Forms and Precedents
- Legal Costs South Australia
Please email Lorna to set up your account.