I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at New York Public Library (New York, NY) in Aug 2015
Interview
I applied online and was invited to do a phone interview. This consisted of hammering me with questions about my experience. The interviewer seemed to be hammering away at what he perceived to be a deficiency in my experience (ie. running library "programs"). However, since there is nothing on my resume about this I am wondering why I was even invited to interview. I have some customer service experience both in person and via the telephone. And I was able to demonstrate various competencies in terms of problem solving, but I came away from the phone interview feeling as though I had botched it.
Therefore, I was surprised when they set up a panel interview for me. This group was a lot friendlier, but I had to answer the same canned questions from a list. Fortunately I was prepared with some answers, but I felt that I was probably never going to hear from them again. I usually do very badly in these types of job interview situations because I feel like what I am doing is not rocket science and I feel like an idiot acting as though it is. Anyway, they told me they would call me in a few days (And yes, I have heard that one about a million times). The time frame they set forth has passed and I honestly do not believe I will hear from them, but if by some miracle I get an offer, I will follow up.
If selected, the next step would be for a background check and drug test before a formal offer is made.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Time you were frustrated by an inability to serve a customer?
I applied online. I interviewed at New York Public Library (Bronx, NY) in Feb 2026
Interview
Panel interview (usually the branch manager and associate director)
Asked behavioral questions - have instances where things went wrong, were successful, book recommendations, outreach experiences. The interview invitation you receive will also give you suggestions for how to prepare.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at New York Public Library (New York, NY) in May 2022
Interview
One month on average. First interview with manager about my experience, second interview with a panel of future coworkers to get to know me. Applying through pinpoint was daunting, but I reached out through linkedin as well.
I applied online. I interviewed at New York Public Library
Interview
I met with an HR person, a Branch Manager, and two librarians at the branch where the opening was. They asked a series of questions and gave me time to ask them questions. They did not give me a tour of the branch.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What are some books you would choose to read with kids to promote kindness.
Librarian applicants have rated the interview process at New York Public Library with 2.8 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 30% positive. To compare, the company-average is 61.1% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Librarian roles take an average of 45 days to get hired, when considering 10 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at New York Public Library overall takes an average of 33 days.
Common stages of the interview process at New York Public Library as a Librarian according to 10 Glassdoor interviews include:
Group panel interview: 28%
Phone interview: 24%
Skills test: 16%
One on one interview: 12%
Drug test: 8%
Background check: 4%
Other: 4%
Personality test: 4%
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