Homeschooled as a child, Mychal Threets “grew up” in the libraries of Solano County, California. He began his career there shelving books, before eventually becoming a supervising librarian in the same system.
At the 2026 Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) convocation ceremony, Threets, a social media star and the host of the Reading Rainbow reboot on PBS, recounted that origin story to illustrate the role libraries can play in shaping individual lives. In conversation with HGSE Dean Nonie Lesaux, he also spoke about the enduring social and civic role of public libraries.
Threets now carries at least 14 library cards in his wallet. One belonged to his grandmother, who grew up in Arkansas without access to libraries or literacy education before later learning to read in California.
“She didn’t get to have a library card when she was a little girl,” he said. “But she eventually got one [as an adult].”
Threets is among the most visible advocates for literacy and mental health in the U.S. and has amassed more than two million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. He is known for celebrating reading culture, emotional openness, and what he frequently calls “library joy.” In addition to hosting Reading Rainbow, he serves as the resident librarian for PBS and PBS Kids.
His work has earned national recognition, including the American Library Association’s 2024 I Love My Librarian Award, inclusion among TIME magazine’s 2024 Next Generation Leaders and 2025 TIME100 Creators, and a 2025 Webby Award for social impact. He is also the author of a book titled I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy, published in February 2026.
Introducing Threets at Wednesday’s ceremony, HGSE Dean Nonie Lesaux framed libraries as among the nation’s most important civic institutions: spaces of not only literacy, but community. She described libraries as essential “third spaces,” or shared public spaces outside the formal structures of work or home where community can be established.
“In the U.S. alone, public libraries receive more than 800 million visits each year,” Lesaux noted. “They are among the most inclusive and democratic spaces we have.”
Talking with Lesaux, Threets spoke openly about mental health, acknowledging periods in his life when he struggled to imagine a future for himself. “There have definitely been times in my life where I didn’t think I would still be alive,” he said. “Today is definitely a reason to stay.”
Throughout the discussion, Threets emphasized that although graduates stood at a pinnacle moment—prepared to enter the world as transformed individuals—it was still “okay” not to have all the answers, even in fields devoted to public service. He repeatedly encouraged graduates to resist the pressure to appear certain or complete.
“It’s okay to not know things,” he told them. “That’s the beauty of libraries, of education. We don’t know things, but we have the resources to find the answers, especially together.”
Threets told the graduates stories about his years as a librarian, celebrating the unpredictable, “unhinged” logic of children. Once a child whohad lost a tooth during story time became convinced that Threets was the Tooth Fairy.
“Because you have pretty, poofy, princess hair,” the child explained.
When Threets denied the accusation, the child remained skeptical: “That’s something the Tooth Fairy would say.”
But Threets also spoke about grief and memory. The day before the HGSE ceremony, he was in Connecticut with the family of Anna Grace Márquez-Greene, one of the 26 children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. Her mother entrusted Threets with Anna Grace’s library card, asking him to keep it.
“I love being able to be the keeper of that kind of a library card,” he continued. “And I just would hope that you all remember that you are the keeper of your own stories.”
Threets noted that despite the grief they carry, Anna Grace’s family humbled him with “how much joy they have” and told graduates that they, too, have the power to be the authors of their own journeys.
“You’re writing your stories each and every day,” he said. “Especially as you delve into education—you will reach so many library kids and so many people. You have so many opportunities to change and impact lives.”
Nearing the end of his remarks, Threets invoked a famous quote from Fred Rogers—the host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and one of his longtime heroes—to offer graduates one final affirmation: “You belong. You are worthy. I’m so happy you’re here.”
