GALILEO stands for GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online, an initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. A World Wide Web-based virtual library, GALILEO provides access to multiple information resources, including secured access to licensed products. Participating institutions may access over100 databases indexing thousands of periodicals and scholarly journals. Over 2000 journal titles are provided in full-text. Other resources include encyclopedias, business directories, and government publications.
The community of more than 2000 GALILEO institutions includes the University System of Georgia, K-12 schools, public libraries, the adult technical institutes and colleges, and a group of private academic colleges and universities. At this time, only educational institutions are eligible to participate in GALILEO.
Through collaboration and resource sharing, GALILEO seeks to provide equal access to information for all Georgia citizens. While individual libraries benefit from the cooperative sharing of resources - lower costs and increased access to a wider range of materials - the goal is to improve library services for all Georgia citizens. No matter where a citizen lives in the state of Georgia, a library nearby provides access to GALILEO. For this reason, all GALILEO participating libraries, whether public or private, excluding schools (K-12), must provide some kind of access to GALILEO for the public, whether through open access to all library facilities, limited access to designated workstations, waiting lists, or other means. In this way, participating libraries fulfill the vision of GALILEO and reciprocate the sharing spirit in which it was created. Libraries are further encouraged to participate in other collaborative and resource sharing activities such as joint training, interlibrary loan, and reciprocal borrowing.