Frequently Asked Questions About BadgerLink

What is BadgerLink?
BadgerLink is a project of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning. Its goal is to provide access to quality online information resources for Wisconsin residents in cooperation with the state's public, school, academic, and special libraries and Internet Service Providers.
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What resources are available on BadgerLink?
The Department of Public Instruction currently contracts with five vendors (EBSCO, ProQuest, Thomson Gale, Newspaper Archives, and TeachingBooks) to provide access to articles from thousands of newspaper and periodical titles, image files, and other specialized reference materials and websites. Users can find access to over 11,000 periodical titles and over 700 newspapers (including Wisconsin newspapers), children’s and adult literature, business, medical, and education sources, and many other specialized resources not available through regular internet search engines. BadgerLink also connects users to WISCAT (the online catalog of Wisconsin library holdings) OCLC WorldCat (an international database of library holdings), directories of libraries, access to library digitized collections, and other information.
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Who is eligible to use BadgerLink?
Due to licensing restrictions, access to the newspaper, magazine and related specialized resource databases is restricted to Wisconsin residents. A system of IP (Internet Protocol) detection is used to determine the eligibility of site visitors. The IP address ranges of the majority of the state’s public libraries, public schools, and Internet Service Providers have been registered to provide access to their users. General resources are available to all site visitors without restriction.
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Can I access BadgerLink from home?
Yes. If your Web access is provided by a registered Internet Service Provider, you should automatically have access to the newspaper and magazine databases from your home. Users whose ISP is not registered may be able to access one or both of the database resources using a WI library card as a log-in ID.
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What do I do if I’m having problems using BadgerLink?
We encourage you to submit a technical support request to report your problem to us. This will ensure we receive all the information necessary to effectively troubleshoot the problem. Support is also available from 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday via email or by calling 1-888-542-5543. Priority will be given to support requests submitted electronically.
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Is my Internet Service Provider (ISP) registered with BadgerLink?
Please consult our list of registered Internet Service Providers.
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My ISP is not registered. Is there another way I can access the BadgerLink resources?
You can always access BadgerLink from your local public library. If you have a valid Wisconsin public library card, you may also be able to access the BadgerLink resources using your card number as a log-in ID. More information on library card access can be found here.
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Why isn’t my ISP registered with BadgerLink?
Some Internet Service Providers are unable to register with BadgerLink because they operate nationwide networks and are unable to provide us with network information exclusive to their WI subscribers. The most common examples of such ISPs are AOL® and MSN®.
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My ISP is registered, but I still can’t access BadgerLink. What should I do?
The most likely cause of this is that your service provider has switched you to a relatively new IP address range that is not yet registered in our database. Please submit a technical support request to report your problem to our support staff.
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What are the browser requirements for using BadgerLink?
To use the full-text resources on BadgerLink you’ll need a recent browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer®, Netscape® or Mozilla Firefox®). Your browser must be configured so that cookies, JAVA, and JavaScript (or “active scripting” in recent versions of IE) are enabled. To view page images of some resources users will need to have Adobe Reader®.
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Who can I contact for help searching the BadgerLink database resources?
If you are accessing BadgerLink from a school or library, your librarian should be able to assist you with your search. If you are using BadgerLink at home, or are otherwise unable to find what you’re looking for, you may submit a reference request to the Reference and Loan Library.
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How can I stay informed of issues affecting BadgerLink?
Frequent site users may wish to subscribe to the BadgerLink email list to receive announcements relating to BadgerLink and the associated full-text vendor sites.
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