RAMble, the University Libraries' blog - LibGuides at West Chester University of PA

Did you know? The first published biography of Abraham Lincoln was printed in West Chester, PA! The building is at 28 West Market Street in downtown West Chester.

In 2019, a book came out about it!

Take a look

Recent Posts

Business Librarian, Grace Liu, Featured in WCU Magazine

Business Librarian, Grace Liu, Featured in WCU Magazine The Spring 2025 issue of the West Chester University Magazine features University Libraries Business Librarian, Grace Liu. The Faculty Profile highlights Grace’s commitment to student success at WCU through the impactful grants, programs, and groups she leads. Read the full article. ...

Presser Music Library Temporary Closure Notice: HVAC Renovations Underway

We want to inform our valued patrons that the Presser Music Library will be temporarily closed June 2nd through June 29th due to essential renovations to the Swope Music Building’s Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning system. The FHG Library is open during this renovation, please visit us there! Physical music scores and books will be retrieved by staff and available for pick-up at FHG library. To request materials, use Library Search and select FHG as the pick-up location. Our digital library, including eBooks, scores, audio recordings, and research databases, will remain fully accessible at https://library.wcupa.edu/music. Click the image to watch 'How To Video - Getting print books and other physical items' This HVAC upgrade is part of WCU’s ongoing commitment to providing a safe, comfortable, and energy-efficient environment for all students and workers. While we understand this may cause some inconvenience, these improvements are necessary to ensure long-term health and comfort of our community. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to enhance your library experience. Key Details: Closure Begins: June 2nd Estimated Reopening: June 30th Request materials: Search and place requests in our online library catalog. Returns: Drop-off returns at FHG Library which will remain open during the closure. Please see FHG library hours here. Contacts for Questions or Assistance: Library Help: 610-436-2946 Email: presserlibrary@wcupa.edu Stay connected with us on https://www.instagram.com/wcupressermusiclibrary/ for updates and reopening announcements. ...

Special Collections Celebrates Local Inventor William Chester Ruth

On March 25th, 2025, West Chester University’s Special Collections hosted Driven to Design: The Life of William Chester Ruth, honoring the life and legacy of the Chester County African American inventor and businessman. The program’s more than 60 attendees learned how Ruth’s groundbreaking designs helped advance agriculture and other industries during the first half of the twentieth century. The event commenced with welcoming remarks by Special Collection Librarian, Ron McColl, followed by a series of insightful presentations. Dr. tonya thames-taylor, associate professor of history at WCU, delivered a thought-provoking lecture on "Slavery, Freedom, and Labor in Chester County," setting the historical context for Ruth’s achievements. Bruce Bomberger, the former curator of Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, shared how he rediscovered Ruth’s legacy, provided a detailed account of his research into Ruth’s life, highlighting his journey from a self-taught blacksmith to a successful inventor of national renown with multiple patents to his name. Bomberger emphasized how Ruth’s most notable inventions, including the automatic hay baler and self-lifting farm elevator, revolutionized local agriculture. The program culminated with a discussion featuring Ruth’s great-great-granddaughter, Cierra Johnson, a West Chester University graduate, as well as Gwendolyn Ruth Dickinson, Ruth’s granddaughter. They shared personal anecdotes and reflections on Ruth. Johnson explained that stories about her great-great-grandfather continue to inspire her and her family’s endeavors. Following the event, attendees viewed an exhibition showcasing items from the William Chester Ruth papers, which University Libraries Special Collections acquired last year. Highlights of the collection include photographs, marketing materials, business correspondence, patents applications, and blueprints. To learn more about William Chester Ruth, or to schedule an appointment to view his papers, contact Ron McColl at rmccoll@wcupa.edu or visit wcruthlegacy.org. ...

Completion of IMLS Grant Project on Data Quality Literacy

Completion of IMLS Grant Project on Data Quality LiteracyIn February 2025, Grace Liu, Associate Professor and Business Librarian at F.H.G. Library, and her team completed the 2.5-year Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant project on data quality literacy. This project was a collaboration between West Chester University, Stanford University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The project received $149,992 IMLS funding for a National Forum proposal “Building Capacity of Academic Librarians in Understanding Quantitative Data, Data Quality Problems, and Evaluating Data Quality.” The project aimed to raise academic librarians’ awareness of data quality issues, fill their knowledge gaps, and build academic librarians’ capacity and confidence in teaching data evaluation, critical thinking about data, and data literacy.During the first year, with the help of Standard University’s Event Operations Team, the project team organized seven online national forum webinar sessions. These sessions covered topics, includingEvaluating Data Quality: Challenges and Competencies;Quality Assurance in Data Creation;Understanding Commercial Data Quality Issues;Evaluating Governmental Data (U.S. and International);Data Quality: Reproducibility and Preservation;Data Quality: Evolving Employer Expectations; andLibrarians' Role in Cultivating Data-Literate Citizens.These sessions featured a diverse panel of experts, including data librarians from Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and the University of California, Berkeley; the Chief Scientist of the U.S. Census Bureau; the former Chief Statistician of the United States; and data experts from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Catholic Charities USA, Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and Kansas City, Cornell University’s Labor Dynamics Institute, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft Research, the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, Ithaka S+R, and the American Statistical Association.The sessions drew 3,348 unique registrants and 1,931 attendees from six continents and 55 countries, representing over 1,000 institutions, including academic institutions, public libraries, NGOs, central banks, government agencies, corporations, state and national libraries, healthcare systems, and school libraries.During the second year, the project team edited the national forum transcripts into an open-access eBook, Data Quality Literacy Guidebook, which includes seven chapters, 20 subchapters, case studies, inspiring quotes, charts and graphs, resources, Q&A, and appendices. In addition, the project developed 13 knowledge briefs outlining synthesized data evaluation strategies, including Data Reference InterviewEvaluating Data DocumentationEvaluating Dataset for Research NeedsUsing and Evaluating U.S. Federal StatisticsUnderstanding Administrative DataEvaluating Administrative Data QualityUnderstanding Commercial DataEvaluating Commercial Data QualityCommercial Data Quality: Conversation with the VendorsCommercial Data Quality: Conversation with ResearchersEvaluating International Government Data QualityUnderstanding Survey Data and Public PollEvaluating Survey Data Quality The knowledge briefs serve as a framework for academic librarians to organize literacy instruction sessions on data quality or engage in deeper conversations with faculty or researchers on data quality literacy topics. For example, in the one-shot library instruction, there are potential opportunities for librarians to highlight specific data quality issues such as missing values, data errors, or biases that the students need to be aware of when using data or further developing data-related critical thinking skills. The team prepared a comprehensive promotion plan distributing the project and its deliverables through 27 channels. They were invited to share their projects at several key events such as the 2023 Beyond the Numbers Conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the 2024 International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology (IASSIST) Webinar, 2025 The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Business Librarians Affinity Group Webinar, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Digital Scholarship Webinar, and the Hawaii University graduate student seminar. Since its official release in November 2024, the project website attracted over 4,000 users and 7,800 views. In the final phase of the project, West Chester University students Niko Galioto, a graphic design major, and Zoe Martin, a marketing major, joined the team to assist with the project website, knowledge brief design, and promotion. Their contributions significantly enhanced the project's visual quality and project outcomes while also building their portfolios for graduation. The national forum webinar series, eBook, and knowledge briefs laid the foundation for the knowledge of data quality literacy. They empowered academic librarians to teach critical thinking about data and increased their confidence in discussing data quality issues with database vendors and researchers. Learn more by visiting the project website: https://www.dataqualityliteracy.org. ...

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