Budget Cuts
Libraries across the country and in Georgia are being hit by the current economic crisis. Hours are being cut, staff is being cut or furloughed, and fewer materials are being purchased, if any. At the same time use in public libraries is skyrocketing and enrollments are at all-time highs. GALILEO, Georgia’s Virtual Library has been hit, too. Almost all of the user communities in GALILEO have had to make tough choices. Many of the vendors that GALILEO has worked with over the years provided a number of concessions to help us maintain content. We appreciate their understanding that we are in this together. But, in spite of this, some cancellations have occurred for some of the user communities. Over the last two years, GALILEO has had to reduce subscriptions by over $1.4 million, but we are still more fortunate than many. We still have lots of wonderful resources for our users, and that is a testament to the collaborative spirit and value GALILEO provides.
GALILEO staff — programmers, support staff, systems administrators, digital library staff - will be furloughed. This could mean it will take a little longer to get a response, but GALILEO staff is committed to supporting the users. We all hope the economic recovery will make its way to libraries -soon!
