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. The 'Working from Home' edition focuses on how researchers, through the challenges created by COVID-19, continue to use the Library’s resources remotely.

Lara Fresko Madra is a PhD candidate in the Department of History of Art and Visual Studies at Cornell University.

What research are you working on?

I am currently finishing my dissertation which investigates how contemporary art practices from Turkey, particularly in the post 1990 era, have offered alternative modes of recalling and engaging violent pasts as a challenge to nationalist and patriarchal official history.     ​

What resources are you using for your research?    

Mostly I use the library to access secondary literature, books and articles on art history and theory. But at NYPL, I’ve also had the good fortune of finding originals of two of the artist's books from Turkey that I’m writing about!    

What tabs do you currently have open on your computer? 

Always Scrivener and Zotero. And two separate browsers, one strictly for research to avoid distractions. The other browser is full of links to talks I’ve missed, and video works I want to watch, movies, and of course, the news and social media.    

Have you discovered a great online resource you've never used before?    

This is by no means original but I hadn’t used Zoom before the pandemic and it’s really become a resource to access talks and events across the world that I would otherwise have missed. It’s overwhelming in some ways, but so are libraries; always more than one can grapple with or fully grasp.    

What's your working from home setup?    

I have a tiny desk next to a window. On my left, there’s a shelf with some novels, books about writing, and my notebooks. The wall I face is littered in Post-its with notes to myself and quotes from Alexander Chee about writing. I recently got a fifteen-minute hourglass for my desk to keep time while I write.    

What research tools could you not live without?    

The library, truly. And many, many notebooks, notepads, and Post-its. There are other apps that I use, like Zotero, but at the end of the day I think the basics are really all one needs.

What's your favorite distraction or snack when working from home?    

Mid-day walks and tangerines.
 

Are you using NYPL Library collections to research from home? We’d love to hear about your work! Not familiar with our online collections? Whether you'd like a quick introduction to our newspapers, journals, or e-books, or if you need help with something more specific, our online consultations take advantage of screen-sharing technology so we can show you exactly how and where to find things and recommend titles relevant to your work.

Just let us know what you need help with and we'll be in touch to schedule a time.