Gladys Young was born in Iowa. After graduation from Cedar Rapids High School, she worked as an Assistant Cataloger at the Cedar Rapids Public Library, 1908-1912. She resigned that position to enter the NYPL Library School and finished the two-year program in 1914.
Young started working at NYPL in 1912 and was named First Assistant in Central Circulation even before she received her library degree.
In 1915 Young married Noel Leslie (1888-1974) an English-born actor. It seems likely that they separated since she is not listed as a survivor in his obituary.
Gladys Leslie served as Branch Librarian at Seward Park, 1925-1927. After the NYPL Library School closed in 1926, NYPL re-established its Training Class, and Leslie was named Supervisor of Training. She was credited with attracting good trainees, some of whom later went on to get library degrees.
Leslie resigned from NYPL in 1930 and the following year was selected to organize the library for the newly founded Bennington College. On her retirement as head of the college library in 1956, a notice in College & Research Libraries (Vol. 17, p. 441) recognized her as “entirely responsible for building a well balanced and mature book collection and for the efficient and friendly operation of the library.”
Today would be the 121st birthday of Gladys Y. Leslie.
