New York Public Library reviews

This organization, while I was there, was struggling to find their way in a digital world. Their chief digital officer had begun to assemble a team to lead their digital technology efforts which involved eReading and digital experiences like their website, digital research, etc. These teams were, as I came to learn, dealing with a lot of legacy systems and technical debt, and the leadership I reported into at the time was extremely toxic, petty, and overall, simply cruel. It became clear to me after several months that the person in charge of hiring software engineering talent before I joined (my supervisor) wasn't interested in dealing with their software engineers anymore. After a few months, I'd find myself in meetings with senior director level employees, including this person, where they would routinely call out other, lower level employees by name to gossip about them, and there was almost no focus on any kind of strategic objective for the department other than vague "stability" concerns about their existing software. There were recurring "sprint review" meetings set up, but they were actually just status update meetings for the directors in disguise. I was also told several times that more than one employee that I ended up managing likely needed to go on a performance improvement plan, but I saw no such evidence of this once I started working with these people individually - more likely, they were simply never spoken to like they were human beings or given a chance to excel in their roles. The direction I did receive, when I got any at all, was to put together technical "roadmaps" for the digital team, but without any OKRs or cadence based planning at the organizational level this became an exercise in futility where what no matter what I produced, it was nitpicked to the point of being useless. When I tried to assert any kind of view that I thought could help out the digital organization such as a heavier emphasis on agile and lean planning principles, I was told to basically shut up and only focus on "technical" things. I sincerely wish the NYPL the best and I hope things have changed since I left. I would not recommend working there if you're in a technical role.

In my MLIS program, this system was highly revered as one of the most reputable institutions in the field. I was VERY disappointed with my experience at NYPL and found that their "image" is very important which gives the illusion that this system is functional. Let me preface by saying that there are many branches and my experience is based in one small branch - I cannot speak on behalf of the experience working in other branches. The manager was not a degree bearing librarian and lacked the necessary foundation of information science to support day to day operations as well as objective based work. Everything from my emails, how I spoke, and completing the basic work tasks assigned to a public librarian position were overtly micromanaged. Initiative is actually discouraged so as to adhere to expectations set by "higher ups." Input from staff is always considered AFTER the fact as there are numerous conversations that occur excluding librarians and support staff (information is withheld in this case). Many staff members and managers have personal relationships with each other and let their personal business bleed into the workplace. There is certainly a clique culture which and any form of questioning or critical analysis is discouraged. If you question workflow or library objectives, your criticism is seen as defiance. In the instance where I was assaulted on my way home from working, I was assaulted. When I brought the issue of safety up to HR after that incident, two HR representatives had the audacity to imply that I was racist for trying to move to a different branch. I was also stalked to and from work to which they replied "this is new york city and there's just nothing we can do to help you." Absolutely insulting and negligent in my opinion. Resources are allocated to the Manhattan area, leaving the surrounding boroughs with little to no budget for programming. Programming is pushed down your throat and you are expected to robotically hand over pre-written project information to patrons - you will be nothing more than a middle man. If you work out of state, do NOT apply to this system. Commuting into the city is difficult and unpredictable, though if you're late by a few minutes, you'd be told to use MINUTES of your annual leave. If you are sick, you are told to "not make it a pattern" and to try to pre-schedule your sick time as if you know when you're going to be sick??? I could go on and on about the deficiencies in this system and, again, this is only my personal experience, but I would not recommend this system to anyone - ever - especially if you feel a natural inclination to leadership and creative expression. If you are looking to get the name on your resume, it's worth toughing it out, but if you're looking for a career, it would be in your own best interest to look elsewhere.