Title
Liaison Librarian
Headshot of Kristen Howard wearing a green top
Contact Information
Location

McLennan Library Building 
3459 McTavish Street 
Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C9

Phone number
514-398-5550
Email
kristen.howard [at] mcgill.ca
Booking URL
Book an appointment
Google Scholar Profile
Google Scholar
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0089-1205
Library subject
Religious Studies
Indigenous Studies
Classical Studies
History
Education

Master of Information Studies, McGill University, 2022

Ph.D., History, University of Arizona, 2020

M.A., History, University of Arizona, 2014

B.A., History, Washington State University, 2012

Biography

I support the teaching, learning, and research needs of students and faculty members in the department of History and Classical Studies, Indigenous Studies program, and the School of Religious Studies. I am also an Associate Member of the department of History and Classical Studies. 

Awards

  • CAPAL Early Career Researcher Award, 2026
Areas of Interest
  • Information and archival literacy
  • Creative uses of special collections
  • Humanities researchers' use of digital surrogates
  • Library ethics and principles
  • Ethical use of information
  • Artificial intelligence
Teaching

Reading the Past: Workshop in Early Modern English Paleography (1500-1700)

  • 10-week non-credit workshop in early modern English paleography, Summer 2026
Professional Activities

Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research, Section Editor (Theory and Research), 2026-present

Selected Publications

Howard, K. (2026). The spectrum of authority: A new approach to teaching AI and primary source literacies. Communications in Information Literacy 20(1), 152-168.

Howard, K. & Tummon, N. (2025). Understanding student citation literacy: A multi-method approach. Public Services Quarterly, 21(2), 85-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2025.2467715. Available open access on McGill eScholarship here.

Sundberg, J. & Howard, K. (2024). Crafting connections: Bridging collections and communities with knitting. RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.5860/rbm.25.1.13 (open access).

Howard, K. (2023). Digitization and exploitation: Acknowledging and addressing the use of exploitative prison labor by libraries and archives. The Library Quarterly, 93(3). https://doi.org/10.1086/725070. Available open access on McGill eScholarship here.

Howard, K. (2023). Household and hospital: Negotiating social welfare and social discipline in Reformation Geneva. In T. Fehler & J. Thomley (Eds.), Do good unto all: Charity and poor relief across Christian Europe, 1400-1800 (pp. 171-89). Manchester University Press. Available open access on McGill eScholarship here.

Howard, K. (2020). "A House Dedicated to God": Social Welfare and the General Hospital in Reformation Geneva, 1535-1564. Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona. UA Campus Repository. 

Selected Presentations

Howard, K. (2026, October). Real, spurious, or fake? Teaching source evaluation with the Spectrum of Authority. NELA (New England Library Association) 2026, Burlington, Vermont. Duration: 1 hour.

Howard, K. (2026, July). Beyond real or fake: The Spectrum of Authority as a critical evaluation tool. LILi (Lifelong Information Literacy) Conference 2026, virtual. Duration: 15 minutes.

Howard, K. & Hervieux, S. (2026, July). Prompting the archive: A comparative assessment of GenAI tools for primary source discovery and literacy. GAIL (Generative AI in Libraries) Conference, virtual. Duration: 45 minutes.

Howard, K. & Tummon, N. (2026, June). Great expectations: Faculty views on citation behaviour. CAPAL (Canadian Association of Professional Academic Librarians) Conference, virtual. Duration: 20 minutes.

Howard, K. (2026, January). Fakes, forgeries, and generative AI: Foregrounding primary source literacy in today's undergraduate classroom. Poster. OLA Super Conference, Toronto, ON. 

Howard, K. (2024, October). From Cells to Servers: Exploitative Labour and the Digitization of Historical Documents. Invited talk. Groupe d'Histoire de Montréal/Montreal History Group, hybrid. Duration: 45 minutes.

Howard, K. (2024, June). Crafting critical historians: Incorporating AI literacy into primary source literacy. Lightning talk. Generative AI In Libraries (GAIL) Virtual Conference, virtual. Duration: 15 minutes. Slides.

Howard, K. (2024, May). Charting the course: Embracing RUSA’s Guidelines for Secondary Source Literacy. WILU, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Metro-Vancouver, BC. Duration: 45 minutes. Slides.

Howard, K. & Tummon, N. (2024, May). An initial investigation into student citation literacy. Lightning talk. WILU, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Metro-Vancouver, BC. Duration: 10 minutes. Slides.

Howard, K. (2023, October). Metadata justice and exploitative labor in libraries and archives. Keynote. ODNFest, State Library of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio. Duration: 1 hour & 30 minutes discussion.

Howard, K. (2023, July). Beyond exploitation: Metadata justice and prison labor. Metadata Justice in Oklahoma Libraries & Archives Symposium, virtual. Duration: 30 minutes.

Howard, K. & Sundberg, J. (2023, May). Knitting natural HerStory. ROAAr event, McGill Library, Hybrid. Recording. Duration: 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Garlock, E., Howard, K., Monosky, M., Pecoskie, C., Rod, A.B., & Turp, C. (2023, May). Building a literacy-informed technology training program for MLIS students with MLIS students. ABQLA 2023, Montreal, QC. Duration: 45 minutes.

Howard, K. (2023, March). Meeting students' information needs: Devising better research strategies for women's and gender history. AkLA 2023, Fairbanks, Alaska. Duration: 30 minutes.

Rod, A.B., Pecoskie, C., Howard, K., Desmeules, R., Desrochers, N., & Turp, C. (2022, October). BiblioTECH: Building a collaborative future-oriented instruction program for information studies students. Access 2022, Virtual. Duration: 20 minutes.

Sundberg, J. & Howard, K. (2022, October). Knitting together a community with special collections. Lightning session presented at 2022 CRKN Conference, Virtual. Material prepared by K. Howard and J. Sundberg, presented by J. Sundberg. Duration: 10 minutes.

Howard, K. (2022, June). Sketching and stitching in the stacks: Driving community engagement with creative projects. Lighting talk presented at RBMS Conference, Virtual. Duration: 5 minutes.

Howard, K. (2022, May). Magnifying the Royce Gale Miniature Book Collection. Invited presentation, Rare Books & Special Collections, McGill Library, Hybrid. Recording. Duration: 30 minutes.

Howard, K. (2022, May). Highlights from the Lilly Toth Miniature Book Collection. Invited presentation, Lilly Toth Memorial Event (part of the Festival d'Histoire de Montréal), Jewish Public Library and Montreal Holocaust Museum. Duration: 25 minutes.

Howard, K., & Paul, E. (2022, May). A collection of curiosities: The Lilly Toth Miniature Book Collection. ABQLA Annual Conference, Virtual. Recording. Duration: 40 minutes.

Howard, K. (2022, April). Digitization and exploitation: Toward ending the exploitation of the incarcerated in memory work. Concordia Library Research Forum, Virtual. Recording. Duration: 20 minutes.

Howard, K. (2022, March). Knitting in code. ROAAr event, McGill Library, Virtual. Recording. Duration: 35 minutes.

Howard, K. (2022, February). Social welfare and the hospital in Geneva. Invited presentation, Reformation Conference, Claremont McKenna College, Virtual. Duration: 30 minutes.

Howard, K. (2021, February). Rare stitches: Knitting inspired by illuminated manuscripts. ROAAr event, McGill Library, Virtual. Recording. Duration: 25 minutes.