Mychal Threets (born 1990)[1] is an American librarian. Based in Fairfield, California, he is known for his viral social media videos that feature book recommendations, library services, and affirming messages.

Life and career

Threets was born and raised in Fairfield, California.[2] He was very shy, and experienced anxiety and depression.[3] He was homeschooled during elementary school and spent a lot of time at the local library, considering it his "home away from home".[4]

He received his bachelor’s degree in communications from University of Phoenix and later attended San Jose State University for his master’s degree in library information science.[5]

The library where he works as a children's librarian, Fairfield Civic Center Library, a branch of the Solano County Library in Solano County, California, is the same library he grew up patronizing.[3][6] In 2013, Threets began working there at age 23, shelving books, and worked his way to his current position as supervising librarian of his branch.[5]

Threets has stated that he wants viewers to see the library as a positive and inviting place.[2]

Online presence

Threets' videos share book recommendations, interactions he has with patrons, services available at the library, and mental health-related messages.[1][2][4] He is known for the catchphrases "you belong" and "unhinged library joy".[2] His viewers have compared him to Mister Rogers and LeVar Burton when he hosted Reading Rainbow.[1]

He first began posting his stories to Facebook, but began posting videos to TikTok and Instagram in 2020 after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] In March 2023, his first viral TikTok video shared his experience having a child library patron ask about his gender.[2]

In July 2023, Threets had 40,000 followers on TikTok.[5] By December 2023, Threets had 450,000 followers on Instagram[2] and 600,000 on TikTok.[7]

Personal life

Threets is of African-American and Mexican descent.[5] He has a tattoo of book and cartoon character Arthur Read'slibrary card[1] and a Where the Wild Things Are tattoo on his arm.[5]

Accolades

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mayorquin, Orlando. "Mychal Threets Wants Everyone to Experience 'Library Joy'". NYT. New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Johnson, Julie (2023-12-24). "How a Bay Area librarian became an Instagram star". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  3. 1 2 Thomas, Garvin (2023-06-21). "Thousands following North Bay librarian on TikTok for his real-life stories from the library". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  4. 1 2 "The Coolest Place on Earth: The Public Library". KQED. 2023-11-16. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Wasik, Rebecca (2023-07-07). "Solano County librarian shares his love of reading through social media". The Vacaville Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  6. ↑ Page, Sydney (2024-01-10). "Librarian faced spate of insults. Thousands of people came to his defense". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  7. ↑ McConnell, Nick (2024-01-08). "Bay Area librarian and TikTok star Mychal Threets works to spread 'library joy'". Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
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