Popular TikTok Librarian Resigns To Prioritize Mental Health
Mychel Threets, who went viral for sharing his love of reading as a local librarian on social media, announced his resignation from Solano County Library due to his mental health concerns,
On Friday (Feb.23), the “library joy” creator, the supervising librarian for the Fairfield Civic Center Library, announced all his social media platforms to ensure his mental health would be his priority. His last day will be March 1.
"I am leaving to prioritize my mental health," Threets said. "To work with my mental health check-in team, but I'm hoping to make you so very proud. I'm hoping to fight for literacy. There is so much going on across the nation, across the world that are impacting libraries and I wanna support them as much as I'm able to."
“What you are seeing—the darkness in me—are mental health struggles,” he continued.“I suffer from anxiety, PTSD, depression, panic disorder, and nightmare disorder.”
He also said he was committed to using his platform to fight for libraries facing cuts and possible closures because of lack of funding.
"Worldwide, nationwide, going before Congress, letting them know how much libraries need funding, deserve funding,” he added. “Funding libraries is funding the community, funding our togetherness, our unity, making us better people."
Concluding the video, Threets noted that the library will continue to thrive and that he’s looking forward to returning to his favorite place soon.
Threets’ work received national attention, garnering millions of views and followers on social media. His mission was to spotlight local libraries' critical importance and impact on children and adults. Last year, he became one of ten recipients of a prestigious award from the American Library Association.
In an interview with the New York Times, Threets spoke about how the library should be a safe space where the community can be vulnerable,
“I’m always talking about how you can bring your anxiety, you can bring your depression into the library,” Mr. Threets said. “You don’t have to leave it outside of the building.”
