by Nahla Abdulrahman
February 26, 2024
Mychal Threets, a TikTok librarian at the Solano County Library in California, has amassed a following of more than 740,000 users.
A librarian who shared her journey and work on TikTok has announced her resignation to prioritize her mental health. Mychal Threets has gained many of his over 740,000 followers on the platform through his reading advocacy work with the Solano County Library in California.
Sleets talked about his retirement in a video posted on February 24th, expressing his love and gratitude to the library that supported him throughout his life.
@mychal3ts Dear @Solano County Library, Solano County Library Children, Solano County Library Adults…Thank you for introducing me to the joy of libraries and the joy of books 💚📚🫶🏽 #BookTok #LibraryTikTok #Storytime ♬Original Song – mychal
“Dear Solano County Library, thank you so much. Thank you for raising me as a homeschooling library girl,” the TikToker began. “This is a place where I’ve always felt safe…I went from being a library kid to being in charge of the library I grew up in. It’s been the honor of my life.”
He informed the community that he is taking time off to care for his health but will continue his work promoting the library.
“I plan to leave to prioritize my mental health and work with the mental health check-in team,” he said. “But I want to make you very proud. I want to compete in the literary world. There are a lot of things happening across the country and around the world that affect libraries, and I want to make you very proud. We want to support libraries as much as possible…When you fund a library, you fund a community.”
The news comes as Black people in particular are disproportionately affected by the mental health challenges they endure in the workplace. black company. according to mental health america, 16% of black Americans reported having suffered from a mental illness in the past year. Suicide is also the third leading cause of death for Black people between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the U.S. Minority Health Service. With these statistics in mind, there is a growing need to prioritize the mental health of Black people, and Threets is helping to eliminate that stigma.
He posted again on TikTok to address the negative comments that influenced his decision, but also called on his supporters not to attack those who left hurtful comments. He revealed that he has struggled with mental health since childhood, but continues to have a passion for reading, writing and libraries despite his time off from work.
“I will always be a librarian,” Sleetz emphasized. “Prioritizing my mental health means spending time with my family, friends, and mental health check-in team, seeing a therapist, championing literacy for all, and the Library Afro Revolution with Blair Imani. The emphasis will be on pursuing the joy of life and the joy of books. [and] Enjoy library fun as often as possible. “
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