Wisconsin Librarians Appeal for
Continued BadgerLink Service Funding
When Governor Tommy Thompson presented his 1999-2001 budget bill to the Wisconsin legislature in February, librarians noted with chagrin that funding for BadgerLink—a popular Web-based information resource—was not included. The service, launched in 1998 with Library Services and Technology Act funding, is provided by two private companies that offer full-text access to 41 newspapers, 4,500 periodicals, encyclopedias, and other materials.
The state Senate Education Committee met on March 10 to discuss where to find the $2.5 million to keep BadgerLink going another two years. Committee chair Richard Grobschmidt (D-South Milwaukee) said his office has been contacted by furious librarians throughout the state. The service will end on January 1, 2000, if state or alternative funding cannot be found.
Sally Drew, the Department of Public Instruction official who supervises the program, told the March 9 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the same service would cost Wisconsin school and public libraries an estimated $50 million if they were to purchase individual site contracts.
Posted March 15, 1999.
|
