Bay Area librarian and TikTok star Mychal Threets works to spread ‘library joy’

For years, Mychal Threets has focused on spreading what he calls “library joy” in his post as a supervising librarian at the Fairfield Civic Center branch of the Solano County Library.

Recently, that joy has spread a little further.

When we last spoke with him in July, Threets had an already impressive 10,000 followers on TikTok. Now, he has over 60 times that following, with over 600,000 followers, and he has received coverage from The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and KQED.

The rising star has been named a winner of the American Library Association’s I Love My Librarian Award. Chosen as just one of 10 winners nationwide from a pool of over 1,400 librarians, Threets will receive a $5,000 cash prize and will be honored in Baltimore later this month at a national conference.

“It’s been very crazy,” Threets said. “It’s honestly shocking to me how much it has changed in just a little bit of time.”

And although it has been a wild ride for Threets himself, he sees the journey as a huge step forward for libraries both locally and across the country.

“I’m pinching myself for libraries,” he said, as he watches them have their post-pandemic moment in the sun.

Threets said he started telling stories of the library during the pandemic, and that sharing positive interactions and good experiences in the library is what his platform is about.

Threets’ content often focuses on “library kids” and their interactions with him and library resources. While Solano County is and has been one of the most diverse counties in the nation, Threets said, children of color are shocked that there is someone who looks like them and their family working at the library with tattoos and big hair.

That drive to help people feel like they belong comes from Threets’ own experience as a lifelong library visitor.

“I am the truest form of a library kid,” he said. “I first visited the library when I was 3.”

As a homeschool student, Threets said, the library opened up new worlds to him. As a 23-year-old, after searching for what he wanted to do for a few years, he worked up the courage to ask how to become a librarian. After working as a shelver for a while, he applied for promotions, got the necessary education and worked to become a full librarian.

The process is a game of patience, he said, but has been deeply rewarding because of those roots.

“I think what drove me to become a librarian is just growing up in the library,” he said.

But Threets makes clear he isn’t acting. The entire library has focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

To that end, Threets said, the library has worked to increase its Spanish resources, deaf resources, literacy improvement resources, and libby audiobook access. Students can also get homework help online with a library card, and adults can get resources for employment exams as well as help with resumes and cover letters.

The Solano County Library is always working to partner with new groups and encourage community, Threets said. Patrons can now check out much more than just books, with musical instruments, bakeware and video games readily available

“We’re just constantly doing things to bring people back to the library,” he said.

But even for those who don’t yet have a library card, the library exists as a place for all people to exist without expectations or pressure. Some members show their library cards as they walk in like a Costco membership, Threets said, which isn’t necessary.

“You don’t need to flash that bad boy,” he joked.

Internet access, printers, and scanners are some of the library’s most vital resources, Threets said. Folks can use them to take tests, print plane tickets, scan documents, read articles and more.

But overall, the most important thing that the library provides, according to Threets, is a safe, calm place for everyone to be with their neighbors.

“The biggest resource is the library itself,” he said. “There is something for everybody.”

Emily Drabinski, executive director of the American Library Association, said the I Love My Librarian Award is given every year to librarians nominated by their colleagues, supporters and friends.

“I think it’s important to highlight the work that individual librarians do for their community,” she said.

The ALA has been fighting for intellectual freedom in libraries since the 1930s, she said, a purpose that has become even more important in the current wave of book bans across the country. The association is all in on that fight now, she said, and they are also focused on supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in libraries.

That’s why the ALA works to support library students of color, she said, because it’s important for all people to see themselves represented behind the reference desk.

“It’s not enough to have a single Black librarian,” she said. “We need to have cohorts that are bigger than that.”

Although the award can only feature 10 librarians, Drabrinski said, librarians all over the country are focused on doing their best to help their communities.

“Every library in every community does something unique and special, and every librarian is unique in special, but the thing we all have in common is serving our community and our users.”

On TikTok, Threets said, he has been surprised that his content has been viewed by kids, as that was never the direct goal, but as a former children’s librarian, much of his content references “library kids.” In one instance, however, he was able to spark some multi-generation “library joy” when he showed a library kid to the Marvel comic books and their “library grown-up” to a Will Smith biography.

Threets said he hopes people in Solano County understand that the library is for everyone, which means that unsheltered and mentally ill neighbors should feel safe and welcome there, too. Often, those people can be connected with resources when they visit the library that help them find more stability long term.

“So many success stories start because people came to the library,” he said.

And at the end of the day, Threets said, libraries are a gathering space — a place for neighbors to come together, share resources, and enjoy one another’s company.

“Remember that everybody in Solano County belongs in the library,” Threets said.