“I am leaving to prioritize my mental health," shared viral social media star Mychal “The Librarian” Threets, in early 2024.

At the time, Threets — the then supervising librarian at Fairfield Civic Center Library in Solano County, Calif. — had amassed more than 1.5 million followers on social media. While many of those fans and visitors were charmed by Threets’ big personality, big fro, and passion for connecting with children, a job is still a job. After months of deliberation, he had enough.

“It was just such a stressful job,” Threets says to BET. “And then there were also things in my personal life with family getting sick; just struggling with, for the first time, not liking working at the library. I remember there was a day when I actually said, ‘I don't like this job. I don't like doing this.’”

He also received death threats. At one point, his staff didn’t want him to leave the library alone after his shifts. The weight of it all was so overwhelming that Threets considered taking his own life.

“In December 2023, when I started actively having to tell myself, ‘Stay one more day.’ I was getting very close to taking my own life. Towards the end of that month, closer towards Christmas, and I was like, I can't do this anymore,” he shared.

But before the cameras and viral videos, Threets’s love of books—and the comfort they offered—began long before adulthood. Growing up, Threets was a self-described library kid who found refuge among the shelves of “Beverly Cleary,” “Junie B. Jones,” and “Harriet the Spy.” 

“I suffered from anxiety and depression and panic attacks and nightmare disorder before I knew what all those things were as a kid,” he said. “And with library books is where I made my first friends.”

Those early experiences didn’t just shape his imagination—they built a foundation for the empathy and openness that later defined his public persona.

“I was homeschooled from the age of kindergarten through junior year. We were always at the library—we were at all the programs, all the reading challenges. We were that homeschool family at the table, just having a ball, reading books.”

A New Era

Leaving his old job, the place where he rose from an aide to the supervising librarian, proved to be the right decision. He joined PBS as a resident librarian and was soon offered the opportunity of a lifetime: hosting the “Reading Rainbow” reboot. 

The iconic series has been reimagined for a new generation of young readers and their book-loving parents — parents who more than likely grew up listening to the show’s then-host and literacy advocate, actor LeVar Burton.

“I've received messages saying, ‘Oh, you've got big shoes to fill!’” Threets says. “I don't feel that way. I'm a “Reading Rainbow” kid. I'm a kid who loved the show. LeVar Burton is an icon. He's a legend of literacy. I'm not trying to be him. I'm trying to make him proud.”

The first episode of the new series dropped on Oct. 4 to much fanfare as a digital series on ReadingRainbow.org and the KidZuko YouTube channel. The new series is a four-episode short-form run and will premiere weekly on Saturdays through October 25; each episode will be available at 7 a.m. 

Despite the new title, “host” Threets makes it clear that he’s still a librarian, and despite the turmoil of his old job, his passion is staunchly present. “Libraries are a third space,” he says. “You can sit in the chair from open to close. You don’t even have to show me that [library card] to be here. Libraries are so important just because there’s something for everybody.”

And above all, he hopes his work helps people hold on. “I just always encourage people to stay one more day, to take it 24 hours at a time. There’s a person who loves them, who’s proud of their existence—it’s me. I’m so happy that they’re here.”

For Threets, this hosting opportunity was a testament to the power of listening to your gut and knowing when it’s time to prioritize your wellbeing and mental health over your career.

“I read from a book by Jazz Thornton called 'Letters to You,' and my favorite chapter is called ‘50 Reasons to Stay.’ So I read that out loud, and I always encourage people to just look for a reason to stay. And the last couple of days, I've been joking where I'm just like, ‘Oh, look for a reason to stay because maybe, apparently, you can become the host of “Reading Rainbow” if you stay one more day.’”

Jokes aside, Threets is clear that the “library kid” with parents who nourished their child’s love of books, and who has a talent to look at the world optimistically, despite it all, has his purpose.

“If you let me talk about books and literacy, and just about belonging,” Threets says, “I'm the happiest, most joyful person who has ever lived because this is why I'm alive.”