The state’s free online resource library — BadgerLink, available to all Wisconsin residents — is at risk if President Donald Trump’s executive order to almost completely eliminate federal support for libraries and museums goes through in September, according to an Aug. 19 piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
According to the story:
BadgerLink is a state program giving Wisconsin residents free access of databases, research libraries, Wisconsin and other newspaper archives, scholarly journals and other vetted resources that are not typically free of charge, or readily available online.
While BadgerLink is free of charge for state residents to use, its content is fully paid for by the State of Wisconsin. The Department of Public Instruction predicts BadgerLink will have sufficient funds to operate at its current level until September 2026. Additional funding will be needed after Oct. 1, 2026 to maintain the current service level. Without it, the service level could be greatly reduced.
Wisconsin medical professionals use BadgerLink to access medical research through resources such as Consumer Health Complete and MEDLINE.
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin has helped to write a bill to preserve $183 million in funding for the program that supports BadgerLink. U.S. Senator Ron Johnson did not respond to a request for comment about BadgerLink.
Libraries have been encouraged to invite their Congressional representatives to visit so they can see programs such as BadgerLink at work.
