HKS Library Newsletter Book Bans Talk, Presidential Campaign Buttons, & More We're sandwiched between Banned Books Week and the US presidential election, so what better time to explore the democratic process with the HKS Library? We invite you to join us tomorrow for a talk on the relationship between censorship, book bans, and the First Amendment. Plus, check out our new digital exhibit on the history of presidential elections in the US. In this newsletter you can... Learn about book bans and the First Amendment with lawyer & librarian Jocelyn Kennedy. Explore 80 years of US presidential elections through political buttons. Join Data + Donuts on teaching the implications of generative AI, and on leveraging data to improve neighborhoods. Use the Think Tank Search to easily find policy research. Check out the 25+ new community-curated books in the Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Collection. Borrow technology & equipment through our new online portal. Libraries & Democracy A History of Censorship, Book Bans, & the First Amendment with Jocelyn Kennedy, lawyer and librarian Thursday, October 24, 2024 | 4:45-6:15PM Light refreshments will be served. Censorship is on the rise within the United States and in Massachusetts. There is a surge of individual challenges to books held by school and public libraries, and a proliferation of legislative action across the country to shape and limit the content of school libraries and course curriculum. Join Jocelyn Kennedy, a lawyer and librarian, to explore the history of government censorship within the United States, discuss the legal limits of censorship, and develop an understanding of the role the First Amendment plays in protecting the freedom to read. Register US Presidential Campaigns: 1944-2020 Election stress got you down? The HKS Library can help you contextualize the US's current political moment in a long line of presidential elections. We've curated 80 year's worth of campaign buttons from our Political Buttons Collection, representing Democrats, Republicans, and third-party candidates. Each set of buttons comes with book recommendations so you can dig deeper into the complexities of elections past. Explore the buttons Data + Donuts   Teaching the Science & Implications of Generative AI with Teddy Svoronos HKS Senior Lecturer of Public Policy Teddy Svoronos will speak about the new course he co-designed and co-taught on the inner workings, advantages, and risks of modern AI models, and why generative AI is a critical topic of public policy. Friday, November 1, 2024 10:30-11:30AM ET   Taubman 520 + Zoom 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Register   Leveraging Data to Improve Neighborhoods with Kate Robb Senior Research Associate with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Kate Robb will speak about her work collaborating with cities to improve the health and safety of neighborhoods through leveraging data, collaboration, and innovation. Friday, November 8, 2024 10:30-11:30AM ET   Wexner 330 + Zoom 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Register Resource Spotlight: Think Tank Search The HKS Library's Think Tank Search searches the websites of 1,200+ think tanks and research centers around the world. Save hours of time looking for policy research! Use think tank search New books in the Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Collection Huge thanks to all the HKS community members who have recommended books for the Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DIB) Collection! The DIB Collection is driven entirely by community recommendations. Since the start of the Fall 2024 semester, we've added over 25 books. Recommend your favorite book on identity and belonging so we can add it, too. Highlights from our recent additions include: A Separate Peace by John Knowles Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah Claudia Jones: Visions of a Socialist America by Denise Lynn Coming Out as Dalit: A Memoir by Yashica Dutt Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien Jewish Radical Feminism: Voices from the Women's Liberation Movement by Joyce Antler King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine by Uché Blackstock Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore Van Alst They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms by Mike Hixenbaugh Explore the dib collection New online portal for borrowing technology & equipment You can borrow all sorts of technology and equipment from the HKS Library. Now, we have an online portal where you can see what's available. New in HOLLIS, you can explore the chargers, calculators, laptops, adapters, and accessories available to check out in the HKS Library. Browse library tech 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