Vista Accessing Public Hotspots

My local library has a public hotspot. Previously I had a laptop with XP Pro on it. I was able to access the hotspot at the library with no problem. It requires opening a new browser window and clicking the guest button on the webpage that appears. No passwords required. This allows access to the internet and the library webpages.

With my new Vista Business laptop, the network icon in the notification area just shows local access instead of local & internet. When I open a browser window it won't connect with any webpage. I thus cannot become a guest to connect to the libraries lan & the internet even though I am shown as being connected to the wireless lan hotspot in the notification area.

I talked to tech guy at the ISP that provides the hotspot for the library and he said Vista changed the way it obtains IP address from them as compared to XP. I have tried some searches on the internet concerning Vista and public hotspots to no avail. Does anyone here know a workaround or fix for this behavior?