Research at NYPL
Researcher Spotlight: Sarah Krasnostein
This profile is part of a series of interviews chronicling the experiences of researchers who use The New York Public Library's collections for the development of their work.
Sarah Krasnostein is a writer and lawyer with a doctorate in criminal law. She is the multi-award winning author of The Trauma Cleaner (2018). Her most recent work can be found in Tablet Magazine, the Monthly and the Saturday Paper. She has written for a variety of publications in America, Australia, and the UK, as well as various academic journals.
What brought you to the Library?
Initially, I was hunting down some information for my first book, The Trauma Cleaner (St Martins Press /Text Publishing)—working from the LGBT periodicals collection housed in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books division. That was how I learned about the Library's extensive resources which I am currently using for my next two books—a narrative non-fiction exploration of cognitive dissonance and belief, and a social history of women's crime and punishment in New York City.
Describe your research routine
Everything I've worked on so far has an immersive fieldwork/observational component, which I tackle first, and a secondary source component. When I’m doing the paper-based research, I start off fairly broad and then narrow down the focus. It's always a tricky balance between staying open to the new directions uncovered in the material while staying on course (and on deadline!) by resisting the impulse to chase every rabbit down every hole.
What's your favorite spot in the Library?
It would have to be a three-way tie between the monastic quiet of the Shoichi Noma reading room, the view of the Empire State Building from the Bill Blass catalog room, and the children's room, where my son and I go to see the original Winnie-the-Pooh.
What research tool could you not live without?
I wish I could say a Mont Blanc pen and a fine Moleskine notebook but the reality is less glamorous—the various files and spreadsheets on my laptop and an extremely utilitarian to-do list on my phone.
After a day of working/researching, what do you do to unwind?
I'm on a book deadline, and I'm a pregnant mom of a kindergartener, so I have no great wisdom on relaxing! If I get the chance, though, I love watching the Japanese show Terrace House on Netflix; it's like a slow food, emotionally elevated version of reality TV—very addictive.
Where is your favorite place to eat in the neighborhood?
I'm always eating, or wishing I was eating, something from the Breads Bakery stand in Bryant Park.
Is there anything you'd like to tell someone looking to get started?
Follow your actual interest and curiosity—rather than what you think you 'should' be doing. That passion will give you momentum and endurance and it will also make the final product stand out.
Have I left anything out that you’d like to tell other researchers?
It's really isolating work and I think we all need to remind each other of two things every so often. First, there are more stories than there are people. Finding something to work on is less about luck and more about how we look at the world. Second, a lot of writer's 'block' is the paralysis of perfectionism. As my doctoral supervisor would always say: "Vomit it out! Write dirty! Then you have something to work from!".
To learn more about research at the Library, check out our Doing Research classes, or connect with us directly at generalresearch@nypl.org.
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