Mychal Threets at #alaac25: “I Am Still Here Today Because of Library People”

Despite being scheduled to speak while Dr. Carla Hayden and Kwame Alexander shared the #alaac25 Main Stage, Mychal Threets entered the room for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table (CSKBART) Chair’s Program to a round of applause. “I’m surprised anyone’s here!” Threets said. He was wearing his signature smile. But PBS’ Resident Librarian needed no introduction. (Like I’ve said before: Not many librarians have a Wikipedia page.)

Threets’ CSKBART talk was titled “Walking in Library Joy in Turbulent Times.” Threets spoke of the first book he saw someone like himself in: Bud, Not Buddy, the CSKBART Author Winner in 2000. He went on to speak about My Daddy is a Cowboy, the CSKBART Illustrator Winner this year. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I saw this cover when I was a kid!” Threets said. 

Threets also discussed the mental health struggles that nearly led him to take his own life in 2024. Threets assured the audience, “I promise we’ll get to the joy.” And he did: “I’m still here today because of library people,” Threets shared. Threets encouraged all library adults to follow Coretta Scott King’s example. “We all have the power to be architects of joy,” he said. 

At the conclusion of the program, incoming CSKBART Chair Kacie Armstrong noted that Threets’ first book will come out in 2026—appropriately titled I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy. We’re happy you’re here too, Mychal.

You can learn more about the CSKBART and how to support their work at ala.org/cskbart/join. You can witness Mychal be an architect of joy by following him on Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and/or Facebook.

Kelley Taksier (they/them/theirs) is a former classroom teacher pursuing a Ph.D in special education at the University of Florida. Currently their research focuses on students’ access to texts in public schools. As a part of this work, they collaborate with school and public librarians. They are proud to be a part of Diverse BookFinder’s third Community of Practice cohort and enjoy reading science fiction outside of the reading they do as a part of their work. As for #alaac25, they are most looking forward to learning about how to be a better advocate for libraries. 

The post Mychal Threets at #alaac25: “I Am Still Here Today Because of Library People” appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 Despite being scheduled to speak while Dr. Carla Hayden and Kwame Alexander shared the #alaac25 Main Stage, Mychal Threets entered the room for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Round Table (CSKBART) Chair’s Program to a round of applause. “I’m surprised anyone’s here!” Threets said. He was wearing his signature smile. But PBS’ Resident Librarian needed no introduction. (Like I’ve said before: Not many librarians have a Wikipedia page.) Threets’ CSKBART talk was titled “Walking in Library Joy in Turbulent Times.” Threets spoke of the first book he saw someone like himself in: Bud, Not Buddy, the CSKBART Author Winner in 2000. He went on to speak about My Daddy is a Cowboy, the CSKBART Illustrator Winner this year. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I saw this cover when I was a kid!” Threets said.  Threets also discussed the mental health struggles that nearly led him to take…
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