Rachel Duchak is the host of the SLO County Library Foundation’s new podcast “We Love the Library.” Illustrated headshot by Sarah Glidden
By Theresa-Marie Wilson
Looking to dive a little deeper into the library experience? There is a new locally produced podcast to check out anytime and anywhere.
“We Love the Library” is a 30- minute, twice-monthly podcast from the SLO County Library Foundation that features educational and entertaining voices from inside and outside the County’s 14 public libraries. It is available at SLOLibraryFoundation.org/podcast or by tuning in on Apple Podcasts.
“I think that these are hard times for libraries and for our society as a whole,” host, producer, and SLO County Library Foundation board member Rachel Duchak told Estero Bay News. “We are under a type of weird anti-intellectual attack, in my opinion. I think that highlighting the wonderful open doors for all kinds of people and the non judgy nature of the library is a good thing.”
In addition to people profiles, podcast also informs listeners about the library system’s unique collections that include Memory Kits, Explorer Backpacks, a karaoke machine, and a range of useful tools from the “library of things.”
“They have this whole library of things,” said Duchak, a former host of KCBX’s Morning Edition. “They have a freaking karaoke machine that you can check out from the library for three weeks at a time. I have gotten to the point now where I think, ‘I need to fix my computer. I wonder if they have an iFixit kit at the Library of Things.’ And Gosh, darn it, they did. I was able to fix my computer. It was kind of amazing.”
The fifth episode of the podcast was released Dec. 17 and is about the wildly popular Poetry Night held after hours at the Los Osos Library, which recently featured Lisa Coffman reading her poems for a large crowd. Coffman’s poetry accompanies a conversation with organizers that considers the public benefits of Poetry Night across its 15-year history.
The sixth episode was released Dec. 31 and includes an interview with Jackie Kinsey, Outreach Coordinator for the SLO County Public Library system, as well as a conversation with the newest member of the Board of Directors of the SLO County Library Foundation, Jay Capel.
Capel was formerly an elected trustee of the Altadena Library system but now lives in SLO County. Listeners will learn more about his work fighting library privatization in LA County and why he decided to join the SLO board. The segment also talks with Library Foundation President Juliane McAdam, who shares the story of how the Library Foundation helped to raise funds to pay for a headstone for the grave of the first librarian of the SLO library. There was a graveside service honoring her pioneering work with the SLO library as well as a reading of some of her poetry.
“We LOVE the Library advocates for our public libraries and hopes to raise the profile of the SLO County Library Foundation to attract donations and bequests to financially support the 14 branches in the SLO County Library system,” Duchak said.
Upcoming topics include the connection between the library and MakerSpace; a 12-year-old library power user; a talk with Alicia Gale, a writer out of Morro Bay who does sapphic mysteries, who will also talk about LGBTQ+ materials that are available at the library; Cookie, the Creston librarian; as well as collaborating with R.A.C.E. Matters and other multicultural components of our population.
“It’s just trying to highlight all of the libraries as much as possible, and the interesting, fun, unique things that maybe people don’t know about. I started with one microphone, but now I have three, so we’re getting better,” Duchak said with a laugh. “I figured, since this is all volunteer, people will forgive me.
“If people are interested in being involved on the podcast, we would love to know. They can send an email to me at podcast@slolibraryfoundation.org.”
The San Luis Obispo County Library Foundation is a tax-exempt non-profit organization that has served the San Luis Obispo County Library since 1996. Its mission is to strengthen the San Luis Obispo County Library System through ambassadorship and financial support. In addition to the podcast, a new blog is available at SLOLibraryFoundation.org.
“Not everybody necessarily wants to talk into a microphone, but there are plenty of people who are happy to write up their ideas about how libraries inspire them and how libraries are like treasure chests, where you just have to imagine what you could ask for or look for, and it’s there,” Duchak said
By The Numbers — Library Look Back 2025
The County of San Luis Obispo Public Libraries reported 1.3 million checkouts for 2025, with print books still in high demand in an increasingly digital world. They topped 980,000 checkouts, which is impressive, but not a record breaker.
“Our numbers have been kind of flat since 2023,” said aid Erica Thatcher, communications and marketing coordinator for the libraries. “More than 26,000 households used their library cards this year, and that number is slightly lower than last year. But this is a trend in libraries across the nation. I think a lot of it has to do with budgets shrinking. We had to drop expensive streaming services and decrease business hours which both eliminated borrowing opportunities.”
About 35% of households who used their library cards this year were in Morro Bay, Cambria, Los Osos, and Cayucos.
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge participation was up to 6722 – 1,000 more people than for the 2024 challenge.
As far as free programs offered at all 14 libraries in the system, Thatcher said, “Family events are always our biggest draw. Around 15,000 people attended storytimes and other preschool programming this year. Animals are a big draw, too: We hosted a reptile show that more than 1500 kids and families attended.”
The most borrowed in fiction was “The Women” by Kristin Hannah followed by “James” by Percival Everett. Other in-demand titles included “The God of the Woods” by Liz Moore, “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt, and “The Waiting” by Michael Connelly.
“Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A memoir” by Ina Garten led nonfiction checkouts, followed by “The Wager” by David Grann. Top nonfiction also included “Framed: Astonishing true stories of wrongful convictions” by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, and “The Demon of Unrest” by Erik Larson.
The most-borrowed kids’ titles were graphic novels: The Baby-sitters Club series by Ann M. Martin led in checkouts, followed by the Dog Man series, by Dav Pilkey. Top teen titles included “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas, “Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins, and “Powerless” by Lauren Roberts.
Ebooks and eAudiobooks were downloaded approximately 267,000 times.
“It’s often assumed that ebooks are the preferred format these days,” said Thatcher. “But we don’t see that. We think people will continue to enjoy browsing in person and turning actual paper pages.”
With 2026 right around the corner, the Library’s sights are on reaching more bibliophiles.
“Our priority for the coming year is to make it easier to use the library,” Thatcher said. “We know life is busy and libraries aren’t convenient or easy to use for a lot of people. We want to be able to reach more people outside our libraries, but we also want to make a visit to the library more enjoyable for all kinds of readers. We want everyone to find something good to read.”
Visit SLOLibrary.org for more information about the library’s 2024-2025 annual report, free library cards, books, and eBooks.
