Harvard Kennedy School Library Blog

Watch live or follow the conversation tied to the workshop at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Alternative Approaches to Open Digital Libraries in the Shadow of the Google Book Search Settlement.

Watch live: http://www.law.harvard.edu/media/2009_07_31_berkman.mov

Information about the workshop: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/googlebooks/Main_Page

Follow the discussion on Twitter: http://bit.ly/8O1PI

Topics up for discussion: missed opportunities related to the Google Book Search settlement, open standards, open access, infrastructure and framework,  the Human Knowledge Project.

The Harvard Kennedy School Library & Knowledge Services is now on Twitter! Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/HKSLibrary to see our posts and learn more about the issues that matter to us.

And if you’re not yet using Twitter, stay tuned — we’ll be offering workshops this fall about Twitter and other social networking tools.

Come by for research help this Wednesday, June 17th from 3 – 4pm in the Library Group Study Room.  No appointment is necessary.

Looking for help getting started with a new research project? Want to learn more about library databases and resources? Need a refresher on using library tools such as RefWorks to manage citations? The HKS Library research staff is happy to help.

Over the summer, there are several ways to get research help:

1. Schedule an appointment: Members of the research team are available for research consultations. Appointments are available Monday – Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Submit a request online at: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/library/secure/consultation.php

2. Email: Email us your research-related questions at question@hks.harvard.edu.

3. Drop-in hours: Each week, we will host drop-in hours for assistance. No appointment necessary. Hours will be posted each week on the HKS Library’s blog: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/library/blog/

4. Chat: submit research requests via a chat tool embedded on the HKS Library web site. Chat is generally available Monday – Friday, 9:30 – 4:00. If no one is available and the widget does not appear on our site, please submit your questions via email. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/library

5. Phone: For information about library hours, to speak with someone from the Circulation Desk, or to request a research consultation, please call 5-1300.

We will try to answer questions within one business day.

For more information about research requests, please contact Abby Clobridge at 6-1772 or abby_clobridge@hks.harvard.edu.

The Library is giving away FREE Spring 2009 course packs
We have a limited number of packets for Spring 2009 courses that are freely available for your personal use.

To make distribution equitable you may only request one item. We have some complete sets of class packets and some individual packets.

Request a course pack online, and come to the library on or after Friday, May 29th to pick up your course pack(s).

If you want to save your data while you still have access to Harvard’s electronic resources, you can learn how to back up your database.

Alumni are also eligible for a discounted subscription rate for RefWorks.  Follow the above link for instructions.

The HKS library would like to offer students our archived course packs from Fall 2007 and Spring 2008. They will be available, first come first served, when the library opens at 8:30am on Friday May 22. Please bring your own bag if needed. Spring 2009 packets will be available soon, check back soon for another announcement.

Here are some books we’ve recently added to the HKS Library’s collection. Click the titles for availability information. You can also receive email notifications of new books by subject area.

Ziliak, Stephen Thomas, 1963- The cult of statistical significance : how the standard error costs us jobs, justice, and lives / by Stephen T. Ziliak and Deirdre N. McCloskey. Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, c2008.

McGeough, Paul, 1954- Kill khalid : the failed Mossad assassination of Khalid Mishal and the rise of Hamas / Paul McGeough. New York : New Press : Distributed by W.W. Norton & Co., 2009.

Smil, Vaclav. Global catastrophes and trends : the next 50 years / Vaclav Smil. Cambridge, Mass. : The MIT Press, c2008.

Wolff, Michael, 1953- The man who owns the news : inside the secret world of Rupert Murdoch / Michael Wolff. New York : Broadway Books, c2008.

Ahamed, Liaquat. Lords of finance : the bankers who broke the world / Liaquat Ahamed. New York : Penguin Press, 2009.

Sadat, Jihan, 1933- My hope for peace / Jehan Sadat. New York : Free Press, 2009.

Megacommunities : how leaders of government, business and non-profits can tackle today’s global challenges together / Mark Gerencser … [et al.]. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

The bad news is that once you graduate, your Harvard ID and PIN numbers will no longer let you use the thousands of electronic resources you’ve come to rely on.

The good news is, we can help.  The library has a guide to coping with life after Harvard.

Researching as HKS Alumni

We’ll also be hosting sessions to present techniques for researching outside the Harvard Libraries system and give you information about HKS library services available to alumni.

Join us at one of the following times to learn what you need to know. All sessions will be held in the Library Group Study Room.

• Friday, May 8th, 3:00 – 4:00pm
• Friday, May 15th, 3:00 – 4:00pm
• Friday, May 22nd, 3:00 – 4:00pm

The Library is giving away FREE Fall 2008 course packs
We have a limited number of packets for Fall 2008 courses that are freely available for your personal use.

To make distribution equitable you may only request one item. We have some complete sets of class packets and some individual packets.

Request a course pack online, and come to the library on or after May 4th to pick up your course pack(s).