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Few NYC public schools have librarians, data shows
By
Jessica Gould
Published Jun 14, 2026
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RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
By
Jessica Gould
Published Jun 14, 2026
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Less than 20% of public schools in the five boroughs employ librarians, according to new data released by the city.
City data released this week in response to a new law shows that there are 287 school librarians, including 14 part-time librarians, across the city’s 1,616 schools.
That’s up slightly from the first count released in December, which revealed that there were only 273 full-time librarians and 12 part-time librarians last year.
“The lack of librarians in our schools is profoundly disappointing,” said City Councilmember Lincoln Restler, who sponsored legislation last year requiring the tally. “Librarians make a world of difference in advancing our literacy goals in inspiring a love of learning and reading.”
Restler noted that state standards require that all public middle and high schools employ a full- or part-time librarian. “The vast, overwhelming majority of schools in New York City are out of compliance,” he said.
He said librarians can serve as vital guides for students seeking to distinguish fact from fiction online.
“It's about learning how to research. It's about learning how to navigate the vastness of the web to get the facts that we need,” he said.
Education department officials said they are taking the data seriously and hope to make improvements, building on initiatives that train librarians, fund libraries through grants and expand access to e-books.
Isla Gething, a spokesperson for the education department, said the report highlights a “significant gap,” especially in the middle grades, and called it an inequity Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels is committed to addressing “because we know that reading is foundational to student success.”
The new data comes as teachers and parents raise concerns that new literacy curricula include fewer whole books.
Public school parent Rachel Cohen pointed to research that shows students achieve more academically with access to school librarians.
"We are hopeful that Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels are going to be the ones who start to fix it,” she said.
This story has been updated to correct data on the total number of librarians in the city's latest report.
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new york city
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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