Services & Programs

We’ve heard from a number of libraries and genealogists who are concerned they may be losing access to resources they value and want to reassure Wisconsin libraries and patrons that BadgerLink will continue to provide access to historic newspapers and genealogy content from Wisconsin and beyond.

While the contract for Access NewspaperARCHIVE will not be continued, the Department is contracting with ProQuest to provide historic newspapers via Newspapers.com Library Edition World Collection. Access NewspaperARCHIVE is no longer provided through BadgerLink, and Newspapers.com Library Edition World Collection will be available as soon as possible. We are confident the Newspapers.com interface and ProQuest customer support will be a step forward for BadgerLink users. The collection contains newspapers from around the world, not just Wisconsin. Once a contract is signed, DPI will share the full title list.

Our current vendor of genealogy/local history resources, HeritageQuest Online, will continue to be our genealogy collection provider.  Access to their resources will continue without interruption.

The contracts should be finalized in the next few weeks and we will continue to provide updates about our resources on the Badger Bulletin as well as the Wisconsin Libraries for Everyone Blog.  We are working to restore access to historic newspapers as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.

To receive email notifications about our updates, sign up at https://badgerlink.dpi.wi.gov/subscribe.  Contact us at https://badgerlink.dpi.wi.gov/contact-us with any questions.

Written by:  BadgerLink Team, Resources for Libraries & Lifelong Learning

Although it is only the summer 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau has already been testing extensive research from the past decade to inform a better census design. Our friends at the Providence Community Library (Providence, RI) wrote about the upcoming test in their community this past spring. The 2020 census has an unprecedented focus on online responses while still allowing for mail and telephone responses. It appears that gone are the days of the door-to-door census taker. The U.S. Census Bureau’s desire to move the census to an online format is certain to affect many populations that do not have reliable internet access including rural communities, low-income families, the elderly, and people with mobility issues. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and the Federal Communication Commission offer several maps to help visualize the distinct lack of high-speed, reliable internet access in our state. For many, the public library may be the only place in a community where residents without Internet access can go to respond to the census.

Local Impact

A September 2017 report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that in the 2015 fiscal year 132 programs utilized Census Bureau data to disburse more than $675 billion dollars back to local, state, and tribal governments. Some of the largest programs that use census data include Medicaid, Medicare, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), highway planning and construction, Pell grants, National School Lunch Program, special education, and Title I grants to public schools. When the federal government is deciding how to distribute those $675 billion dollars in aid, they are comparing your community and Wisconsin to the other communities and states in the nation. It is important that this enumeration of all free people living in the United States be taken accurately so that our local communities don’t lose out on aid that can have an immense impact in our communities.

Imagine your local school district receiving the same amount of funding year after year to serve the number of students that lived in your community a decade ago, but the number of students has actually increased – that leaves your school district trying to stretch its dollars even further to provide services to census responders and non-responders alike.

If you think that underrepresentation on the census means a community might lose out on a few federal dollars, think again! Private corporations use census data to plan investments: the greater the population in an area, the greater the potential for more income. This leads to increased private investment and private services being pumped into your local economy.

EVERYONE Counts

All people living in the United States are to be counted in the Census. Avoiding the census can cost local communities not only in lost aid dollars but in Congressional and state representation, too. It is important to remember that the Constitution requires everyone to be counted on the census.

The U.S. Census Bureau acknowledges, “Some demographic subgroups are underrepresented in Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) because of undercoverage and nonresponse. They include young black males, metropolitan residents, renters, people who changed addresses during a panel (movers), and people who were divorced, separated, or widowed.”

Often underrepresented populations also include children, college students, and noncitizens.

Importance of Libraries

Libraries play an increasingly important role in ensuring all people living in Wisconsin are counted accurately on the 2020 census. Libraries must be prepared for new library visitors who look to respond to the census, and also take this opportunity to let their municipalities or counties know that by promoting the census in their community, and directing people without internet access to the library, they can greatly improve their chances for a thorough census. The library will help yield all the federal and state funding the residents are entitled to for services delivered in the community.

Public Library boards may also want to emphasize to their municipalities or counties that the online access to the census survey helps to maximize federal and state funding for municipal services. In the Rhode Island trial referenced above, communities stood to lose about $1100 in federal funds for each individual missed in the 2020 Census. Each person counted on the census in your community has a real dollar impact where you live.  The Census Bureau provides a toolkit of resources, training materials, and graphics to help partner communities ensure that everyone gets counted.

Libraries taking a leadership role in your community to complete the decennial enumeration? Now that makes a lot of census.

Submitted by Michael Dennison, Public Library Development Team

As the school year closes and the hallways become quiet, library media specialists assume the task of creating year end reports. With each passing year the presence of data in education grows, and effective gathering and use of data continues to be a meaningful way to illustrate the value of library programming to administrators. This data can be utilized to support many facets of the Future Ready Librarian Framework by providing information about the use of space, the creation of instructional partnerships, curation of resources, professional development needs, equity in access to resources, and budgeting strategies. In order to accomplish this, it is critical to think about how the different components of data can work together to illustrate impacts on student learning, rather than isolating each element.

Circulation data, some of the oldest and most commonly collected pieces of library information, might be disregarded by administration if not connected with other data points. Circulation data illustrates access to resources, and, when combined with other student or class information, may be an indicator for providing equity of access. Consider analyzing not only the print collection, but statistics showing access to databases, too. There are resources on the BadgerLink website to show you how to collect this information. Additionally, you might examine how your collaboration or other curriculum projects impact circulation at different times of the year.

Comparing collaboration data with circulation numbers is a way to give the latter a stronger connection to student learning. Collaboration data can also provide a unique insight into instructional partnerships and professional development needs. In addition to keeping accurate numbers of instances or time spent collaborating, coaching, and mentoring, document other pertinent items, such as subject area, curriculum units, and strategies used. Another helpful tool is surveying staff for feedback regarding experiences, student impact, and professional development needs.

Collaboration can also be connected to your collection data. Explore how collaborations impact use of your print and digital collections in order to better curate your collection and budget for resources. Being able to discuss collection data in terms of how the collection is impacting students is another great talking point to illuminate for administration why and how curation of resources can improve student learning.

As library spaces steadily evolve and continue to promote inquiry, creativity, collaboration, and community, data about the space itself continues to be of value, too. Again, the data must go beyond just numbers of visitors; it should document purposes of visits, size of groups, and popular attractions. This information can drive decisions about maker areas, furniture, future space design and availability. It may also be used to contribute to conversations regarding how library programming supports the social emotional growth goals in your school or district since the library is naturally an environment that encourages diversity, equity, and awareness of voice.

There are an abundance of ways to turn stale year end statistics into data used for growth and transformation. Dedicate yourself to showcasing your report to administration as an insightful tool to improve student learning. And, as you look at what you have collected, reflect on the questions you truly want answered and begin planning for changes you will make for next year.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is currently working with the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) to complete a Request for Bid process designed to license Collections in all of these content areas, to be provided through BadgerLink. All BadgerLink resources will be updated as of July 1, 2018, according to the awards resulting from the procurement process. Vendors for more than half of the Collections have been selected. Six Collections are being rebid, with a June 1, 2018 response deadline.

Contracts for collections will be executed in the order shown below. If the total cost of the best qualified, lowest cost bids for all selected Collections exceeds the BadgerLink budget, the Collections can be licensed for use by all Wisconsin public libraries and schools by another qualified public entity, and bidders are obligated to honor the pricing they included in their bid.

Collections in purchase order priority with status and/or selected vendor: