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Birmingham Public Library

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Birmingham Public Library Reviews

3.1

52% would recommend to a friend

(17 total reviews)

32% positive business outlook

Birmingham Public Library has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 17 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Birmingham Public Library employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government and public administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

17 reviews
1.0
7 Feb 2019

Word to the wise

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Had a couple of co workers that were cool. It made things less miserable

Cons

ATTENTION: AVOID!!!! Toxic work environment!!!!!No vision, support, or hope. Awful communication and leadership from upper management and administration. If you can think of a wrong way to lead and direct a library it was done by upper management. They cut corners and only do whats in their own best interest. They constantly look for ways to blame employees for their problems and never not once seek to understand what an employee is struggling with and how to positively help them with uplifting and constructive feedback. The performance reviews are completely biased, unfair, and a joke! People back stab and conspire against each other. It's literally like watching a reality tv show unfold on a daily basis. There are no expectations on employees and holding people for accountable for their actions? you can forget about that. The BPL library system is in shambles and working their made my life a living hell. Just know that regular employees are not valued nor are opinions, views, and concerns respected. All decisions effecting employees are made behind closed doors by a library board of directors who have no real relationship with the library and its employees. What an absolute disgrace and embarrassment BPL is to the city of Birmingham.

2.0
25 Feb 2023

Ruled by Bias

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Interacting with great people on staff and in the community

Cons

Very biased work environment; ruled by both implicit and explicit bias. There are Black staff members that continually exceed expectations but are never promoted or are demoted ("unnecessarily moved to meet library need"). White staff members are giving swifter consideration for higher positions, while Black staff members already have the credentials and experience but if they want to advance they have to leave the entire library system. This bias has been seen regularly when some staff are interacting with the public, particularly low-income and unhoused community members. Several white staff members operate through a lens of disdain when engaging these communities. There also are assumptions made that the community members don't read when there has been no thoughtful assessment to identify what titles and programs interest the community. Overall, it is a very oppressive, uber-traditional, and stagnated place to work

Viewing 1 - 3 of 17 Reviews

Glassdoor has 17 Birmingham Public Library reviews submitted anonymously by Birmingham Public Library employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Birmingham Public Library is right for you.