About
Library & Research Services serves HKS by responding to the research, data, information, and curricular needs of our community. We:
- Engage with our community to create and share knowledge.
- Connect faculty, students, and staff with the vast collections and content we curate and steward.
- Connect the world with the scholarship and insight created at HKS.
- Advance the HKS mission by enabling the teaching, research, and engagement at its core.
Current HKS community members can find details on our resources and services in Knet.
All other visitors can learn how to use the HKS Library on our Access & Accessibility page.
Contact Us
Meet the Library & Research Services Team
Everyone on the LRS team has a unique background, a wide variety of responsibilities, and robust expertise. We often work collaboratively to deliver services. If you are not sure who to contact, use our general information above and we will connect you appropriately.
James Adams, Manager of Research & Data Services
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James has served as the Manager of Research and Data Services at HKS since February 2022. In addition to his work at HKS, he teaches a course on Information Visualization at the Pratt Institute School of Information. Prior to HKS, James worked as Data and Visualization Librarian at Dartmouth College. He has been an instructor with the Carpentries since 2015, and he teaches the use of free, open tools to promote reproducible research. James holds a BA in Music and English from Boston College and a MS in Library and Information Science from the Pratt Institute.
Daniel Becker, Curriculum & Instruction Librarian
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Daniel coordinates LRS’ instruction and orientation program, teaches workshops on library resources, academic integrity, and research tools such as Zotero, and works with SLATE colleagues and faculty members to reimagine syllabi and diversify course materials. With subject specialties in international relations, comparative politics, and contemporary history, he also offers in-depth research consultations for students and serves as a course librarian for select HKS classes. Last but not least, Daniel co-curates the Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Collection.
James Capobianco, Research & Data Librarian
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James supports research and data services at Harvard Kennedy School. He is also a master’s degree candidate at Harvard Extension School, studying Data Science. He’s interested in using collections as data, bias in data, machine learning, and virtual and augmented reality.
Tim Conant, Access Services Coordinator
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As the Access Services Coordinator, Tim is responsible for the smooth functioning of the circulation and access aspects of the library. He also hires, trains, and manages the student assistant staff, shares oversight for the library’s physical operation, and works with IT to provide computing and printing support to HKS students. Tim received his Bachelor of Liberal Arts, with a social sciences concentration from the Harvard Extension School. When not at the library he can be found working with several service organizations, cooking or caring for his garden.
Emma Hernandez, Senior Administrative Coordinator
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Emma assists the Executive Director with managing and overseeing the financial and administrative operations across the department. These operations include financial analysis, procurement, and assigned projects. She enjoys spending her spare time with her children.
Brandon Lebel, Access Services Specialist
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Brandon assists with daily access and circulation inquiries at the LRS service desk. He is responsible for processing physical and digital course reserves, fulfilling resource sharing requests, training student workers, and contributing to library collection maintenance. Brandon has nearly five years of experience in academic and public libraries, and received his Bachelor of Arts at Emerson College.
Julie Petzold, Access Services Librarian for HKS & GSE
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Julie has over seven years of experience in connecting patrons with library resources, overseeing daily operations of library service desks, and managing a team of more than 20 employees committed to the library’s mission of supporting teaching and learning in and out of the classroom. She is a graduate of Emerson College and earned her MLIS from Simmons University.
Megan Potterbusch, Research Data Steward
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Megan provides research data management consultations, data safety training, and is available to guide researchers through the Harvard Data Safety research compliance process. She received her Master of Library and Information Science from Simmons College and has a particular interest in infrastructure development and cultural shifts that support the ethical implementation of FAIR Data Principles.
Alessandra Seiter, Community Engagement Librarian
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At HKS, Alessandra oversees projects, events, and communications that connect the HKS community with library resources. Her librarianship is informed by an academic background in the geography of social movements, and over a decade of community organizing. They’re interested in how libraries can support the visionary world-building activities of grassroots collectives, and more broadly in the relationship between infrastructure (social, physical) and democratic participation. Alessandra holds a BA in Geography from Vassar College and a Master of Library and Information Science from Simmons University. She is currently pursuing a Master of City Planning at Boston University.
Christina Sirois, Executive Director of Library & Research Services and Privacy Officer for Research
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Christina has a background in research and data as well as digital content management and structured vocabularies, research dissemination, and copyright and data licensing. She previously worked in knowledge services in the pharmaceutical industry and oversaw research and knowledge services for an economic consulting firm before joining the Harvard Kennedy School. She has her MLIS from Simmons University and her MBA from Babson College. She also holds her Certified Information Privacy Professional/US through the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Keely Wilczek, Manager of Collections & Library Services
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Keely has almost thirty years of experience in libraries, academic and public, including more than a decade at HKS. She oversees all aspects of LRS’ collections, both print and digital, and is the point of contact for use of library spaces and requests for new library services. Keely collaborates closely with HKS IT, the Office of Career Advancement, the Communications Program, Harvard Library, and library staff at Harvard’s other professional schools to provide patrons with expertise, services, and resources across HKS and beyond. She has an AB in Classics from Kenyon College and a MLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Corinne Wolfson, Digital Collections Librarian
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Corinne leads the preservation and access of unique HKS content, both analog and born-digital. She oversees Faculty Publications, DASH, HKS web archive, course materials, and other digitization and digital access projects. She is also the curator of the HKS Political Button Collection. She holds an MA in History and an MLIS from Simmons University and a BA in Honours History from McGill University.