Harvard Kennedy School

HKS Library Newsletter

Autumn @ HKS Library 🍂

It's really starting to feel like fall now! As the leaves start to turn, The HKS Library has plenty events and learning opportunities on the horizon, as well as some unique collections and resources that might be new to you.

In this newsletter you'll find:

Open Source Data Tools for Policy & Design Workshop Series 📊
Data + Donuts with Forrest Hangen on Studying Housing Inequities with Big Data 🍩
AI Cyber Lunch: Katy Gero on AI and the Writer 🤖
Resource Highlight: The Cook Political Report 🗳️
Borrow Chargers, Calculators, Laptops & More in the Library 🔌
Latinx Heritage Month through Political Buttons 🌎
Upcoming Workshops & Office Hours around Harvard Libraries: Zotero, R & Python, GIS, Data Visualization 💻

OPEN SOURCE DATA TOOLS FOR POLICY & DESIGN WORKSHOP SERIES 📊

The HKS Library and Loeb Library at the Harvard Graduate School of Design are joining forces to host a three-part workshop series on data visualization for policy and design using open-source tools.

Part 1: Understanding "Found" Data

Tuesday, October 3
3:00PM-4:30PM
Ofer 401

This event is open to all, though space is limited.

If you collect your own data, you'll know what all the variables mean and the methodology behind collection. But most data you deal with will likely have been created by someone else. This is called "found" data, and this workshop will teach you how to integrate it into your own research projects.

Part 2: Data Visualization with R & ggplot2

Thursday, October 10
3:00PM-4:30PM
Wexner 434A

This event is open to all.

In this workshop you'll learn how to use the R programming language to import and visualize data with the ggplot2 package.

Part 3: Using QGIS for Geovisualization

Thursday, October 17
3:00PM-4:30PM
Wexner 434A

This event is open to all.

In this workshop you'll learn how to use QGIS to import and map geographic data through cartographic techniques like scaling, labeling, and altering symbology. You will leave the workshop having created a map that can be exported to various file formats.

DATA + DONUTS WITH FORREST HANGEN 🍩

Data + Donuts // Forrest Hangen on Studying Housing Inequities with Big Data

Friday, October 6
10:30AM-11:30AM
Ofer 401 + Zoom

This event is open to all.

Forrest Hangen is a PhD Candidate in Public Policy focusing on Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. He is also an affiliate of the Boston Area Research Initiative. Forrest studies inequities in housing using “big” data and computational social science methodologies at multiple geographic scales. His most recent work focuses on uncovering ownership obscurity to study landlords and their strategies of social and physical property management. He uses fuzzy-matching to connect tax assessment and corporation records to link landlords and investors to their property portfolios. At this session of Data + Donuts, Forrest will speak about his computational research on housing inequities.

AI CYBER LUNCH 🤖

Katy Gero on AI and the Writer: How Technology is Impacting Creative Writing

Wednesday, September 27
12:00PM-1:00PM
Rubenstein 414 + Zoom

In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders on a first come / first served basis. All are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom.

Join the Belfer Center's Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program and the HKS Library for an AI Cyber Lunch with Katy Gero, Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University's Glassman Lab. Katy will explore how and why writers use computer-generated text, and the implications of doing so.

Details »

Katy Gero on pink background with network pattern.

Blue text that reads "The Cook Political Report" with a blue star underneath.

Resource Highlight: The Cook Political Report 🗳️

The Cook Political Report is a non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Governors, and President as well as American political trends.

Current Harvard affiliates can get full access to The Cook Political Report by registering for an account with your Harvard email address. You will receive emailed instructions to activate your account on the first Thursday after you register. After following those instructions, you can log in through the main page.

Find details on accessing The Cook Political Report and other news outlets in our News Sources & Media Studies guide.

Four items from the HKS Library's Tech Lending Collection. From top left going clockwise: scientific calculator, Mac laptop charger, wooden book stand, and Android phone charger.

Borrow Chargers, Calculators, Laptops & More in the Library 🔌

Did you know the HKS Library has tons of technology and equipment you can check out with your HUID?

Highlights include phone and laptop chargers, regular and scientific calculators, wall adapters (including international), external DVD drives, and stands for books and laptops.

You can borrow our calculators for up to 24 business hours. The rest you can borrow for up to 3 hours.

Explore our full Tech Lending Collection.

White button with black outline that reads "Don't build walls" in large black block text.

Latinx Heritage Month through Political Buttons 🌎

September 15 - October 15 is Latinx Heritage Month, which "recognizes and honors the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors can from Latin America." The HKS Library's Political Buttons Collection features over 1,600 buttons from U.S. political history, including several representing three significant moments of Latinx social movement.

The first moment is recent. During his presidency, Donald Trump made policies and promises to prevent immigration, focusing on Central Americans, Muslims, and refugees. One of his signature promises was to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. He also attempted to end the DACA program and imposed a "zero tolerance" policy on anyone caught crossing the border without legal status. The "Don't Build Walls" button above represents the public outcry against these policies.

The second moment was in the 1960s, when the majority-Chicano National Farm Workers Association merged with the majority-Filipino Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to form the United Farm Workers. The UFW, led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, organized protests and boycotts of non-union produce to demand higher wages, better benefits, and workplace protections. By 1970, new contracts were being signed. The first row of buttons below represents this period.

The third moment was in the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan focused U.S. foreign policy on fighting communism abroad. In Central America, this took the form of covert actions against left-wing governments. The Reagan Administration backed the anti-communist regimes in Guatemala and El Salvador while offering logistical, financial, and military support to the Nicaraguan Contras in toppling Daniel Ortega's Sandinista government. The second row of buttons below represents public opposition to these activities, including a 1987 march on Washington D.C. attended by tens of thousands of people.

Explore more buttons and U.S. social movements in our digital exhibit Decades of Resistance: Political Movement Pins.

Two rows of four buttons each: the top row represents the 1960s, the bottom row represents the 1980s. Top row reads left to right: "Viva La Mujer," "Solidarity, Boycott Grapes," "There's blood on those grapes!," and "Boycott scab lettuce." Bottom row reads left to right: "Central America is Reagan's war on poverty," "U.S. out of El Salvador," "Break the law, buy Nicaraguan," and "March for Peace and Justice in Southern Africa & Central America, April 25 1987, Washington D.C."

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS & OFFICE HOURS AROUND HARVARD LIBRARIES 💻

Zotero Basics

Monday, September 25
4:30PM-5:45PM
Zoom

This event is open to HUID holders.

Zotero is a free software tool that automatically formats citations and bibliographies, helps you keep your resources in one place, and allows you to collaborate with others on research projects.

Making Code & Software Open: Connecting GitHub & Harvard Dataverse

Wednesday, September 27
12:00PM-1:00PM
Zoom

This event is open to all.

By releasing software and code you've created in your research, you are helping to make the research landscape more open, transparent, and reproducible. This workshop will cover recommended practices for sharing code on GitHub and how to properly cite your code using the GitHub integration with Harvard Dataverse.

R & Python Office Hours

Wednesday, September 27 & October 4
1:30PM-2:30PM
HKS Library Commons

This event is open to HUID holders.

Join your Research & Data Librarians every Wednesday for customized, expert support on R, Python, and other programming languages. They can help you write and debug your code, clean your data, implement analytical methods, and visualize your data.

Details »

Programming + Pizza

Wednesday, September 27
5:00PM-7:00PM
Rubenstein 414

This event is open to all.

Programming + Pizza is a collaborative space for building computational research skills. Folks of all experience levels are welcome to bring their questions, insights, and projects, whether you're working in R, Python, Stata, QGIS, or anything else!

Introduction to Data Visualization with Tableau

Thursday, September 28
12:00PM-1:00PM
Zoom

This event is open to HUID holders.

In this workshop, you'll use a sample dataset to create several types of visualization using Tableau. You'll also learn how to combine graphs to create interactive dashboards.

Zotero Basics

Thursday, September 28
3:00PM-4:15PM
Cabot Science Library, Lower Instruction Room

GIS Office Hours

Tuesday, October 3
9:00AM-11:00AM
Littauer G-16 (HKS Library office)

This event is open to HUID holders.

Join Belle Lipton, GIS Outreach Librarian at the Harvard Map Collection, every Tuesday for customized, expert support on GIS and mapping projects.

Details »

Introduction to Data Visualization with Tableau

Friday, October 6
2:00PM-3:00PM
Zoom

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LAND AND PEOPLE

Harvard University is located on the traditional land of the Massachusett people, and the Nipmuc and Wampanoag Nations have long been our neighbors as well. Harvard Kennedy School recognizes and honors the past, present, and future of these Indigenous people and precious lands.

HKS librarians can support your research and academic work. Ask us a question or schedule a meeting.

Contact the Library