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 additional details in the HKS Hub. All other visitors can find information on using the HKS Library on our Access & Accessibility page.
Contact & Engage with Us
Call: 617-495-1300
Email: HKS Library Email.
Visit: Ground Floor, Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy School. View a campus map. View our hours.
Meet with a Librarian: Make an appointment.
Subscribe to the Newsletter: HKS Library Newsletter.
Attend an Event:
- HKS Library events for students, staff, faculty, and fellows (HarvardKey required).
- HKS Library events for everyone.
Review Student Orientation Slides: HKS Library orientation slides (HarvardKey required).
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.
James Capobianco, Research & Data Librarian
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James supports research and data services at Harvard Kennedy School. They are especially interested in bias in data and models, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. James has an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, an MS in LIS from Simmons University, and an ALM in Data Science from the Harvard Extension School. If you need help using data in your projects, including using Python, R, and other data tools, please feel free to contact them.
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 HKS Library. He is responsible for supporting resource sharing, processing deliveries for the SEC Book Locker system, contributing to library collection projects, and supervising student assistant staff. Brandon is also a member of the HKS Library’s Course Materials team and fulfills requests for required readings, chapter scans, and accessible documents. He received his BA at Emerson College and is pursuing his MLIS at Simmons University.
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.
Samantha Quiñon Snair, Academic Services Librarian
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Samantha is responsible for leading LRS’s academic support services such as academic integrity training, citation management, and the Peer Writing Tutor program. She also co-leads course materials processing, provides curricular and instructional support for HKS courses and faculty, and coordinates LRS support of HKS capstone seminars. She has a BA in English from Florida International University and an MLIS from Simmons University, along with a professional background in instructional design, online learning, andragogy, and user experience.
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.