Harvard Kennedy School

HKS Library Newsletter

January @ HKS Library

Happy new year! We hope you enjoyed a restorative holiday season, whatever that means to you. The HKS Library is looking forward to another semester learning and working with you.

In this newsletter you'll find:

Data Carpentry: Learn to organize, clean, & analyze your data 📊
Ease into the spring semester with a community coffee break ☕
Library & IT Pop-Ups: Come say hi! 👋
Workshops: Making your PAE/SYPA accessible 💻
Workshops: Zotero 📄
Office hours: R & Python // GIS & Mapping 🗺️
Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Collection: New website & most-borrowed books of 2023 📚

Illustrations of data scientists working around computer. HKS shield is depicted next to them.

Data Carpentry: Learn to organize, clean, & analyze your data 📊

Every semester, the HKS Library hosts a two-day, beginner-friendly workshop series that will give you the foundational knowledge to pursue data-intensive research with confidence. Come to both or just one! Coffee, a light breakfast, and lunch will be provided. Graduate students, staff, researchers, and non-Harvard community members are all welcome.

Day 1: Spreadsheets and R

Friday, January 26, 2024
9:00AM-4:30PM ET
Wexner 434 (HKS Campus)

Learn how to enter, format, and organize your data in spreadsheets, plus how to start analyzing your data in R.

Day 2: OpenRefine and R

Friday, February 2, 2024
9:00AM-4:30PM ET
Wexner 434 (HKS Campus)

Learn how to clean and fix errors in your data using OpenRefine, plus more on how to analyze your data in R.

Yellow text on brown hexagonal background that reads, "ODIB Library Coffee Community Break." A steaming mug of coffee is between the words "ODIB" and "Library." The hexagon is overlaid on a background of illustrated coffee beans.

Ease into the spring semester with a community coffee break ☕

Join the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and the HKS Library for our January community coffee break. There's no set agenda - just an opportunity to relax and connect with folks you may not get to see everyday. Can't make this one? We hold one every month!

January Community Coffee Break

Wednesday, January 17, 2024
3:00PM-4:00PM ET
Allison Dining Room (Taubman, 5th Floor)

Details »

Four colleagues from the HKS Library and IT sitting next to one another behind a table in the Sunshine Lobby.

Library & IT Pop-Ups: Come say hi! 👋

Classes are (almost) back in session and so are the Library and IT! Visit us in the Sunshine Lobby with your questions and get plenty of candy and swag.

We can help you reconnect to Harvard Wi-Fi, use HOLLIS and Zotero, navigate Canvas, and more. We'll also have lots of info on upcoming events, a button-maker, and a cart full of books you can check out.

Monday, January 22, 2024 | 3:00PM-5:00PM ET

Thursday, January 25, 2024 | 11:30AM-1:30PM ET

Tuesday, January 30, 2024 | 2:30PM-4:30PM ET

Wednesday, January 31, 2024 | 3:00PM-5:00PM ET

Man wearing glasses holds a computer mouse and navigates a desktop screen displaying accessibility icons.

Workshops: Making your PAE/SYPA accessible 💻

HKS students must create accessible copies of their PAE and SYPA, per Harvard University's Digital Accessibility Policy. Ensuring your PAE/SYPA is accessible will allow people of all abilities to engage with your work in equally meaningful ways. Beyond your PAE/SYPA, knowing how to create accessible digital content will be an important element of your public policy toolkit.

The HKS Library is hosting 3 workshops in January and February to help you make your PAE/SYPA accessible. With Harvard Digital Accessibility Services (DAS), we'll show you why accessibility is important, the primary components of an accessible document, and the resources available to help you make your PAE/SYPA accessible.

Each workshop will teach the same content. You can attend in person or on Zoom, and the workshops will be recorded.

Workshop #1

Tuesday, January 23, 2024
3:00PM-4:00PM ET
Malkin Penthouse (Littauer, 4th Floor) + Zoom

Workshop #2

Tuesday, February 2, 2024
10:30AM-11:30AM ET
Malkin Penthouse (Littauer, 4th Floor) + Zoom

Workshop #3

Tuesday, February 13, 2024
3:00PM-4:00PM ET
Rubenstein 414 + Zoom

ZOTERO WORKSHOPS 📄

Zotero: Organizing & Citing Your Research

Thursday, January 25, 2024
2:00PM-3:00PM ET
Wexner 102 + Zoom

If you haven't started using Zotero yet (or just want a refresher after break), now is the perfect time to start! 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. It saves you a huge amount of time and effort, so you can focus on researching and writing.

Can't make this workshop? Register for one of the many other Zotero workshops planned for February.

Woman data scientists sits in front of computer next to aerial view of an abstracted map.

Office Hours:
R & Python //
GIS & Mapping 🗺️

R & Python Office Hours:

When: Wednesdays, 1:30-2:30PM, between January 24 and May 1.
Where: Library Commons.
Who: You and your HKS Research & Data Librarians.
What: Customized, expert support writing and debugging your code, cleaning and visualizing your data, and implementing analytical methods.

GIS & Mapping Office Hours:

When: Thursdays, 1:00-3:00PM, between January 25 and April 18.
Where: HKS Library, Office G-16.
Who: You and Belle Lipton, GIS Outreach Librarian at the Harvard Map Collection.
What: Customized, expert support working with geographic data, conducting geographic analysis, and styling your map.

Diversity, Inclusion, & Belonging Collection: New website & most-borrowed books of 2023 📚

We are so excited to announce the DIB Collection has a new online home! You can now browse the entire collection on the HKS website. Filter by topic, genre, or geographic region, or explore new and featured collection items.

If you're looking for one more leisure read before the spring semester, check out one of the most popular DIB Collection books of 2023! Below are the top four most-borrowed books, all recommended by HKS community members. (Recommend your favorite book on identity and belonging to library_research@hks.harvard.edu.)

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks.
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.
Less by Andrew Sean Greer.

Top 4 Most Borrowed DIB Collection Books of 2023. Photos of four book covers.

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