Mychal Threets he was always proud to be a library kid. The Fairfield, Calif., native was homeschooled by his mother and spent so much time at the Solano County Library that he really doesn't remember the first time he walked through its doors. But he says most of his key memories happen between those walls, like the time he brought his cat to a pet parade.
“I was an unusually cocky little library kid,” Threets, 33, says Rolling rock, laughing. “I was so happy to bring my cat and show her the place I loved. I was so proud. I thought he was the only animal that had gotten a ribbon and then my dad picked us up and was kind enough to tell us that every other kid and animal had also gotten a ribbon. So it was a very good grounding exercise from very early on. And since then, I've loved libraries.”
Stories like these, full of warmth and genuine affection for the library's role in the community, have turned Threets from an average librarian into a beloved TikTok star. Usually crowned with his signature afro and decked out in colorful shirts to show off his book-themed tattoos, Threets began posting on TikTok in 2020, but in the past year, his following has climbed to 700,000 — with dozens of his videos about with the “joy of the library” and stories about who he calls his “library kids” are going viral on the app.
But with the unexpected fame came something else Triets never wanted: unwarranted and damaging criticism. First starting with X (formerly Twitter), popular bait-and-switch accounts began posting Threet's videos, suggesting that he was “weird,” had developmental delays, was autistic, and in some wild cases, had a “dark energy” and would could be a danger to children. Triets publicly responded to all these insults in kind, encouraging his followers not to harass anyone and accepting apologies with a polite smile and Mr. Rogers' quote. But he shocked the internet when he announced to his followers that he would be quitting his job at the library. Threets says Rolling rock The harassment was devastating to his mental health, but he's not giving up because the trolls won. He resigns to make sure his love of the library survives.
“It's been so hard to see and hear about all of this on social media over the last few months. It really hurts your soul to be bullied in person or online,” says Threets. “I grew up from my library, so I wouldn't just make the decision to leave because of cyberbullying. I'm honored to have this platform to highlight library workers and literacy, it's all I wanted to do, but my mental health honestly just started to suffer.”
Triets says that since he was eight years old, he's suffered from a combination of anxiety, depression, insomnia and panic attacks, all things that have resurfaced in big ways not just from bullying, but from the new pressure his TikTok platform is putting on him. . And he knows he's not alone. Triets points to librarians and other public roles in the community, such as teachers and journalists, who function in such essential roles in the community that people often feel added pressure not to fail.
“It adds significant stress not to let anyone down. I've had three or three mental breakdowns in the last few months due to the pressure. I feel like I'm going to let people down. Like I'm betraying them, whether it's library users, my community, my family, my own mental health screening team, or my best friends. I feel like I'm not good enough, like I'm not doing enough,” Threets explains. “All these different things lead to so much pressure and it's what drives my decision. I tell people day in and day out that your mental health matters. And how can I say that honestly and truly if I don't do it for myself?”
While Threets' last day at the Solano County Library — his library — will be March 1, he says Rolling rock that she has no plans to stop supporting the library's children and their adults. In March, she'll be co-hosting Afro Revolution Library Day, a free library where she and activist Blair Imani Ali will be offering the community free books about loving and caring for your natural hair. He will also make a video series for PBS as a “resident librarian.” And of course, he'll spend his break visiting other libraries in his area, but for the first time in 10 years, he'll be just a library kid again.
“I think so often, just because of the struggles in my head, I worry so much about so many people in my life all the time that I don't want to bog them down with my sense of unhappiness. So I almost tried to push people away,” Threets says. “Well, I'll invite people back inside. I'm not okay right now, but I'm on the road to being okay with some wonderful people who save my life so often. I believe I am ready for joy. And I don't know how it will find me, but I'm so excited for the trip. You never know, maybe one day I can come back again as a full-time librarian.”
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/librarian-tiktoker-mychal-threets-quitting-finding-joy-1234978619/
