A library’s quietude is often echoed in its custodian of knowledge. Former KCBX Morning Edition host and producer Rachel Duchak is offering her podcast mic to them.
“Librarians are wonderful, but they’re very quiet, introverted people,” she said. “So, they kind of needed louder megaphones for messaging about what’s in the library.”
Five episodes deep by the end of 2025, Duchak’s 3-month-old podcast We Love the Library dishes out 30-minute audio stories about San Luis Obispo County’s libraries, its unique programs for the community, and the people who make them.
Duchak’s podcast is powered by the SLO County Library Foundation, and she sits on its volunteer-run board. The foundation invests donations and contributions from the community into a wealth fund, which helps the 14 local libraries when they’re in need.
While finances are strong, Duchak realized the board’s directors also have a responsibility as ambassadors of the library system.
To her, a podcast is the perfect vehicle to inform the public about all the resources libraries have to offer beyond books.
Take the host and producer’s latest Dec. 17 episode, “Poetry Night at the Los Osos Library,” where Duchak speaks with poetry aficionado Christine Ahern and Poetry Night curator Beverly Boyd. The episode also features librarian Rosalind Willis and poet-Poetry Night participant Lisa Coffman.
“I was so excited when Lisa Coffman agreed to read a poem from her recent presentation at Poetry Night for our podcast,” Duchak said. “She’s got a huge following of people who love her poetry, and hopefully we can just kind of reverberate out with catching some of those ripples as people are sharing their information.”
Thanks to her years in radio, Duchak and her sources aren’t boxed in by the walls of a recording studio. She uses a lavalier mic and an audio splitter to plug two microphones into her phone and meets people where they are. The RØDE Reporter app helps record their conversation on her phone.
“For episode 4, I recorded in Mitchell Park with a 12-year-old Library Power User. Then, another day that week, I recorded at Sweet Springs Nature Preserve with the outreach coordinator for the Morro Coast Audubon Society,” Duchak said. “But we’ve also recorded in my house, and I have some equipment that I was able to get from the library.”
Listen to We Love the Library for freeon the SLO Library Foundation’s website, slolibraryfoundation.org/podcast, on Apple Podcasts, and on the Podbean app. The episodes are scheduled to come out every two weeks on Wednesday mornings.
In 2026, Duchak plans on turning her mic to new library board members, like one person who relocated to SLO County after working as a library trustee in Los Angeles.
“He’s also been involved with fighting privatization of libraries,” Duchak said. “Can you imagine what a privatized library would be like? It would be terrible. They would charge you for everything … the library is freaking free, you know.”
Duchak finds herself unable to stay away from libraries. The Los Osos Library is a favorite weekend haunt of hers and her husband’s where they browse its DVD sections to hunt for a foreign film to play on their Blu-ray device at home.
“I think when streaming services started, a lot of people got rid of their players, but the SLO County library system has the largest collection of physical DVDs and documentaries and whatnot in the state of California,” she said.
Libraries call to Duchak in a political sense, too.
In March, President Trump issued an executive order aiming to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services—the only federal agency dedicated to funding library resources. In December, following a Rhode Island federal court ruling, the institute announced the reinstatement of all previously canceled federal grants.
“I really wanted to do something positive, and it seemed like, given how many budget cutting efforts the Trump administration is making, … it’s exciting when people are pushing back to try to do what they can to save the library,” Duchak said. “I feel like helping tell a positive story about the library and all of its wonderful services that are out there, … it just seems like in this climate, it’s a good thing to protect.”
Fast fact
• The San Luis Obispo County Behavioral Health Department is taking public comment on its draft three-year Behavioral Health Services Act plan for 2026-29. Community input will help identify local priorities, uncover opportunities for system improvement, and strengthen local Behavioral Health services. The Behavioral Health Board will review the draft plan and recommend revisions during its Jan. 21, 2026, meeting. Find the plan and submit feedback at slocounty.gov/IP. ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 25, 2025 – Jan 1, 2026.