Muskego Library's Internet Provider Survives State Budget Battle, for Now

The computers at the Muskego Public Library are almost always occupied by patrons looking to check their email, surf the internet or conduct business.  However the internet provider for the library and the consortium it's a part of could have folded, leaving the library to look for a new, and more expensive option.

Recently, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) known as WiscNet, which is subscribed to by a consortium composed of public libraries, and other public and private entities across Wisconsin, faced what many would describe as imminent danger when it came up in the state Legislature as part of the UW System Budget Bill.

WiscNet provides affordable Internet access to its subscribers. Its largest customer, the UW System, faced being pulled from the consortium had Sections 23-26 of the Omnibus Motion to the UW System Budget Bill passed.

This move “would have crippled WiscNet, and probably would have destroyed it,” said Waukesha County Federated Library System (WCFLS) Director Tom Hennen in an exclusive interview with Patch. Muskego is part of the WCFLS.  

“I think the Legislature backed off when it began to fully realize all the consequences that would accompany this move,” he added.  

Hennen noted that most of the county’s 16 libraries have their Web sites and e-mail systems hosted through WiscNet. Had the UW System been pulled from WiscNet, Hennen painted a stark picture of how that would impact the county library system’s finances. He said that the county would be looking at having to spend upwards of an additional $20,000 or more per year in trying to negotiate with a private sector Internet Service Provider. “And that’s just our best estimate right now,” Hennen said.

For now, the UW System remains within the WiscNet consortium, and Hennen said a study would be conducted by the state Department of Administration in order to gauge whether the its participation was appropriate.