HKS Library Newsletter October @ HKS Library The first month of the fall semester has flown by! We in the HKS Library have loved working with new and returning students, staff, and faculty. We have lots of events, learning opportunities, and resources we hope you'll take advantage of this October. Data + Donuts: Starting next Friday, explore what AI means for democracy, how to improve AI quality and integrity, and documenting protests in America. Political Buttons Research-A-Thons: Research the candidates represented in our collection at two civically engaged, participatory events. Python Bites: Learn how to use this powerful programming language to analyze and visualize data. New Book Display: Banned Books Week. Speaker Series Data + Donuts: Announcing the Fall Lineup We're thrilled to announce the 15th season of Data + Donuts. Since 2018, we've featured public policy researchers and practitioners speaking about how they use data in their work and on issues of data and society. And yes, we always have donuts! How AI is Rewiring Democracy to Transform Politics & Government Friday, October 10, 2025 | 10:30-11:30AM ET Nathan Sanders is a data scientist focused on creating open technology to help vulnerable communities and all stakeholders participate in the analysis and development of public policy. He’ll speak about his recently published book Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship (MIT Press, 2025), co-authored with HKS faculty member Bruce Schneier. Harvard affiliates are invited to join in person. Members of the public are invited to join via Zoom. Register » Enhancing AI Quality & Integrity with Library Collections Tuesday, October 14, 2025 | 9:30-10:30AM ET Greg Leppert and Catherine Brobston of the Institutional Data Initiative (IDI) at Harvard Law School Library will speak about their efforts to improve the quality and integrity of AI models by collaborating with libraries to refine and publish their collections as data. Harvard affiliates are invited to join in person. Members of the public are invited to join via Zoom. Register » Documenting Protests in America Friday, October 24, 2025 | 10:30-11:30AM ET Christopher Shay and Soha Hammam of the Crowd Counting Consortium (CCC) at HKS's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation will present their methods for gathering publicly available data on US marches, protests, strikes, demonstrations, and more, and share findings about American protest activity over time. Harvard affiliates are invited to join in person. Members of the public are invited to join via Zoom. Register » Participatory events Political Buttons Collection Research-A-Thons The Political Buttons at HKS Collection features over 5,000 buttons representing US political history from 1904 through today. Ahead of state and local elections this November, join HKS and Harvard Libraries for two civically engaged research-a-thons to enhance this unique and well-loved collection! Political Buttons Research-A-Thon Friday, October 17, 2025 | 10:30AM-2:30PM ET | Harvard Kennedy School At this research-a-thon, we'll be investigating and identifying the dates associated with the buttons of candidates who have run for all levels of political office. Identifying these dates will make it much easier for people to find specific buttons in the collection, enabling more robust research. Plus, you'll get to explore the many political campaigns run over the past century -- just in time for you to get out to your city's polls on November 4! At the event, we'll also have information on how you can register to vote in the municipal elections taking place in Cambridge, Boston, and other cities near Harvard. All are welcome to attend, regardless of Harvard affiliation. Lunch will be provided. Register » Political Buttons Copyright-A-Thon Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | 10:30AM-2:30PM | Online At this copyright-a-thon, we'll be investigating the copyright status associated with the buttons of candidates who have run for all levels of political office. Identifying their copyright status will enable us to make the buttons available on many more platforms beyond Harvard, increasing the collection's reach and research potential. You'll learn about copyright law, practice one method for checking a work's copyright status, and explore the many political campaigns run over the past century -- just in time for you to get out to your city's polls on November 4! All are welcome to attend, regardless of Harvard affiliation. Register » Workshop series Python Bites Learn this powerful programming language for data analysis & visualization Python is a popular, powerful, and open-source programming language that students and researchers can use to analyze and visualize data. Python bites is a multi-week workshop series that will get you started with Python so you can use it in your coursework and projects. Join the workshops if you've never programmed before and are looking for a place to start, have used Python and want a refresher on fundamentals, or have used other programming languages (e.g., R) and would like to learn Python as well. Bring your lunch and learn with us! Register » New Book Display: Banned Books Week Hosted annually by the American Library Association (ALA) for the past 40 years, Banned Books Week "celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools." This year, Banned Books Week is October 5-11. The HKS Library's display will be up all October, highlighting books that have been the most targeted for bans over the past year. As defined by PEN America, a book ban refers to "any action taken against a book based on its content" that leads to the book being "either completely removed" or its access restricted or diminished. Since 2021, libraries across the US have faced an unprecedented number of book ban attempts. Last year, PEN American recorded 10,046 book ban attempts -- the highest number of annual ban attempts ever recorded. Over the past five years, book ban attempts have primarily targeted books about race and racism, as well as books about LGBTQ+ identities and experiences. The vast majority of recent book ban attempts have been brought by organized advocacy groups and elected officials, rather than by parents or individual library users. Explore the display Acknowledgment of Land and People Harvard University is located on the traditional and ancestral land of the Massachusett, the original inhabitants of what is now known as Boston and Cambridge. We pay respect to the people of the Massachusett Tribe, past and present, and honor the land itself which remains sacred to the Massachusett People. From the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP). HKS librarians can support your research and academic work. Email us or schedule a meeting. Contact the HKS Library