Is New York Public Library a good company to work for?

New York Public Library has an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5, based on over 665 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 9% over the last 12 months. 58% of employees would recommend working at New York Public Library to a friend and 45% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about New York Public Library have been left by employees working as Library Information Assistant , Library Page and Information Assistant .

Does New York Public Library pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, New York Public Library employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at New York Public Library. This rating has decreased by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at New York Public Library?

58% of New York Public Library employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated New York Public Library 3.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.4 for culture and values and 3.0 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at New York Public Library?

Library Page (93) , Librarian (47) , Senior Librarian (19) , Library Information Assistant (17) , Information Assistant (13) , Library Assistant (11) , Office Aide (11) , Tutor (9) , Part Time Library Page (8) , Page (7) , Young Adult Librarian (6) , Administrative Assistant (5) , Collections Processing Assistant II (5) , Collection Processing Assistant II (4) , Library Technical Assistant (4)

What are the pros of working at New York Public Library according to real employee reviews?

"Good benefits and no weekends" ((in 50 reviews)); "Many of the librarians and other pages were great people and made working there great." ((in 35 reviews)); "great staff here at nypl" ((in 30 reviews)); "Flexible hours for part timers and hourly." ((in 18 reviews)); "Great work experience and colleagues" ((in 17 reviews))

What are the cons of working at New York Public Library according to real employee reviews?

"LOW PAY!!!! 50k may be the highest and that with a Masters Degree" ((in 52 reviews)); "The salary is low and the number of hours are capped to 19 hours a week." ((in 27 reviews)); "It is absurd that some of these managers have the jobs they do" ((in 19 reviews)); "Management wasn't as organized as initially expected." ((in 19 reviews)); "Some upper management doesn't understand the reality of working with the public." ((in 9 reviews))

What are employees saying about New York Public Library layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about New York Public Library layoffs and their outlook for job security at New York Public Library in 2026.

What New York Public Library locations have received the highest employee ratings?

Staten Island , New York , Bronx

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New York Public Library

New York Public Library reviews

3.5

58% would recommend to a friend

(614 total reviews)

Anthony Marx

53% approve of CEO

45% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.4

Culture & values

3.4

Work/Life balance

3.1

Compensation and benefits

3.0

Career opportunities

2.8

Senior management

New York Public Library has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 614 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The New York Public Library employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation industry (3.9 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

614 reviews

2.0

May 14, 2016

Great Mission, some great people, horrible leadership

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You can't beat the mission, and the work they do in the branches. There's a dedicated staff that are genuinely concerned with issues of literacy, learning, and the digital divide. Great benefits-

Cons

Total lack of leadership from the top down- I've never worked for more self-centered, egocentric, indecisive, clueless executives in my life. No support or trust in staff. No skill whatsoever in developing an executable strategic plan. Top executives EXCEL at passing the buck and not taking responsibility for their actions. There is a stunning lack of innovation and creative thinking in the Library. Silos abound, all because the leadership lets it thrive.

2.0

Jan 16, 2016

A division that was once great

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

+Understanding how to organize books and magazines +Meeting new people everyday +Helping people out with library materials +Some good supervisors that are understanding on situations +Once had good flexible hours

Cons

-Incompetent managers that don't know how to manage a merger between divisions -Supervisors that would abuse their employees by forcing them to do work that only supervisors are responsible for and not part of the job description -Managers that are highly disrespectful towards their employees and not taking responsibilities for their own mistakes -Changes schedules very often without notify staff of new changes -Very low pay (minimum in 2016) and no wage increases -Extremely short hours for part timers -Non flexible hours and will be based off your school schedule -No regard for employee safety with a dangerous computer room to manage -Little room for advancement

3.0

Jan 28, 2014

Great job for students, good pay (at least for student workers), good supervisors, upper management is another story.

Library page

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

good pay, flexible hours, reasonable expectations.

Cons

No chance for growth, low morale amongst staff, hazy long term goals, no transparency or input from staff into management decisions, low pay considering location.

Viewing 31 - 33 of 614 Reviews

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Jobs at New York Public Library

Library Page - Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library

Library Information Assistant - Bronx Library Center

Library Page - Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library

Library Information Assistant - Bronx Library Center

Library Page - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building / Access Services

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Ratings by demographic groups

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Great Mission, some great people, horrible leadership

A division that was once great

Great job for students, good pay (at least for student workers), good supervisors, upper management is another story.

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