The aim of The Galilean Library is to provide a venue for people interested in the sciences, the arts, literature and the humanities and the possibility of learning more about them in community with others. The site is also an educational resource and hosts a Library of essays and interviews aimed at all levels, from beginners wanting to better understand a subject to specialists and academics who seek an intellectual challenge. Members of the community are encouraged to suggest ways to develop the site and aid us in endeavouring to make it known as a helpful resource and a home for open-ended learning.
The Academy is the discussion forum of The Galilean Library and is broken down into several areas. (Please see the Sitemap for an overview.) They are:
- Welcome to The Galilean Library:
This contains information about the site for new and registered members, including the overall aim of the project and the rules here at the forum.
- Public:
As the name suggests, this is the main public area. It includes an introductory forum, The Lobby, where new members can say hello and be welcomed by the community, an Off-topic area for discussions that do not fit anywhere else, and Sports, Fitness and Hobbies, which is for discussions of more physical activities or just for members to barrack for their favorite teams.
- Community:
This a private area where members can call upon the help and generosity of others in our small community. The Café Galileo is a social forum, where we share our news, stories and mishaps, while The Hospice is a support forum for any member who needs to get something off his or her chest, ask for advice or just hear a kind word at a time of difficulty. In particular, many people have written in the past about a correlation between studying subjects like philosophy and a form of depression that comes from questioning and undermining ideas that were previously thought to be certainties, so The Hospice is a place to talk with others who have had this same experience and learned to cope with it.
- Resources:
This is a section that gives members and guests alike the opportunity to help and be helped by others. It includes Ask the Librarian, which is an area for members who want to ask questions about the subjects covered at this site and would like to see if other members (the "librarian") can assist; a News forum, where we share stories and analysis of current affairs; and links to both the Resource Directory and Glossary, which are tools that allow members to share websites that might be of interest to others and to contribute to a dictionary of terms and people referred to in discussions at The Academy.
- The Gymnasium:
This is the main area of the forum, where we discuss a variety of subjects across the sciences and humanities. One place of special note is the Creative Writing forum, which is where members offer their stories, plays and poems for review or suggestions. Some of our contributors have been published or are academics in the field of literature and you can read some truly exceptional work.
- Private:
The final area is for members only and includes the Academia forum, which is where we encourage comments or suggestions on how we can improve the site in any way. It also houses the Reports and Moderation sub-forum: if a post is reported by a member then a topic is automatically created here to be dealt with as soon as an administrator is available.
The Academy is packed with custom features to help you enjoy and participate in our community (you can view the full list here). |
