About me
Mychal Threets is a librarian, mental health advocate, and, by his own admission, the library’s number-one fan. A lifelong lover of libraries, Mychal was homeschooled and raised among the stacks, receiving his first library card at the age of five. He began his career as a library shelver at the same library he grew up in, eventually working his way up to become its Supervising Librarian. Mychal is open and honest about his mental health, sharing his experiences in hopes of helping others on their own journeys. He’s known for reminding people—again and again—that he’s genuinely happy they’re here. He considers it an honor to the library people who influence and inspire him that he is a recipient of the 2024 I Love My Librarian Award from the American Library Association, inclusion in School Library Journal’s 2024 Movers and Shakers, TIME Magazine’s 2024 Next Generation Leaders, a 2024 Webby Award for Social Impact, and a spot on TIME’s inaugural 2025 list of 100 Creators.
Mychal is the author of I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy (Random House Children’s Books), illustrated by Lorraine Nam. He currently serves as Resident Librarian for PBS and PBS Kids—and still can’t quite believe he’s the host of the revival of Reading Rainbow.
