‘You belong’: Librarian’s simple message resonates
Before the doors opened at the Fairfield library, Mychal Threets hit the record button on his phone and leaned forward. His bountiful Afro, literary tattoos and big smile filled the frame, and he began talking.
In the video watched nearly 740,000 times on Instagram, Threets described his conversation with a child who walked up to the desk holding out two $20 bills. The child’s grandparent was outside in the car, too worried about overdue books to come inside. Assured by Threets no fines were due, the child ran outside and returned with a grandparent.
“It’s my job to bring people back into the library,” he said in the video. “You made it easy by walking through the doors.”
A shy Solano County librarian’s rise to become one of Instagram’s shining stars seems an unlikely tale. As it turns out, the library is a ripe garden for stories. And Threets is the internet’s library bard.
The Fairfield native has amassed nearly 450,000 Instagram followers, thrusting him into the role of social media influencer. He’s earned comparisons to some of television’s most wholesome personas — Mister Rogers, Bob Ross and LeVar Burton — by peddling kindness, acceptance and books.
His popularity in this space floats above public figures like San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who has 71,200 followers, and far below superstars like Warriors basketball guard Steph Curry, with 55.6 million.
All he’s doing is telling stories about interactions between the stacks. The funny stuff kids say. The tough moment with a frustrated adult whom Threets was able to turn around. The search for a good author.
“I’m now confident that library kids are going to save the world,” Threets said to the camera on Aug. 15.
Movie star Jennifer Garner saw that clip and reacted with “YES.”
Honing a perfect pitch of sincere without saccharine, Threets
captured Garner’s virtual “amen” with a story about two children trying to read a book in Spanish without knowing the language. A Spanish-speaking child noticed, and soon the three were on a library couch, heads together, enjoying the story.
The grownups stood around, beaming with pride. Then, thanks to Threets’ video retelling, thousands of others soaked up the pure moment through their phones.
Most of his stories are the quiet kind. Not great on paper, they come alive with Threets’ authentic storytelling.
“You belong” is one of his mantras, along with “unhinged library joy.”
His social media presence has brought more than likes. More people are coming to the library, Threets said, including many who tell him they came because they saw his videos. He put out a call for blankets last month to give to unhoused people and anyone in need, and has been inundated with donations.
In January, the American Librarian Association will give Threets an “I Love My Librarian” award sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Threets often feels shy, anxious and depressed, and yet he wields his pure enthusiasm like ticker tape at a parade, showering joy on anyone who logs onto his accounts on Instagram or TikTok.
“They’re total positivity energy shots,” said Sarah Roberts, a professor of information studies at UCLA. “Folks watch it to get the feel-goodness of it.”
But, Roberts says, it makes sense that a career librarian like Threets is delivering messages that every person has inherent worth. Libraries remain strongholds at a time when public spaces have diminished. Librarians have found themselves on the front lines of America’s culture wars with dwindling budgets and book bans. They are taking up the role of social worker when people with all kinds of struggles walk through the doors.
“When you look around at our country, there are very few places that are absolutely open to everyone,” she said.
Threets has tapped into an inclusive goodness that people seem to crave. He effortlessly spins stories with neutral pronouns and humane descriptions of homeless people’s public vulnerability.
Threets told the Chronicle he grew up in Fairfield, and was an extremely shy, homeschooled kid who spent a lot of time at the library. In his videos, Threets talks about his struggles with mental illness and encourages people to view libraries as safe places to feel imperfect. He’s honest about how difficult it is to get through difficult days with hopeless, life-ending thoughts.
“I try to interrupt people’s day,” Threets said. “You never know how much a simple greeting might change someone’s day and might keep them going to the next day.”