If you visit, borrow items from, or feel passionate about your local San Luis Obispo County public library, there’s a new podcast you can listen to now, or bookmark for future reference.
“We LOVE the Library” features 30-minute episodes covering what’s new at your local branch, county-wide library programs and services, and even how nonprofit agencies are using library resources to benefit the community.
Host Rachel Duchak says producing each episode allows her to follow and investigate things about the library that she finds compelling. “It’s like my own ‘imagination portal’ into what makes the public library so interesting and valuable in our community,” she says.
Duchak has a background suited for the work, including hosting “Morning Edition” on KCBX public radio from 2016 to 2020 and producing other podcasts (including one on biodynamic gardening). She recently joined the board of directors of the SLO County Library Foundation. She volunteered to put together a podcast that might help other community members discover things about the library they don’t know, and both the foundation and library staff enthusiastically agreed.
“I hope that listeners will learn something useful about their local public library and that they might consider incorporating a quantity of library time in their everyday worlds,” Duchak says. “I hope to inspire others to pursue their own creative and intellectual interests, and pursue their own paths through the library’s ‘imagination portal.’”
The first two episodes of the podcast have been posted, and the segments demonstrate the range of programming you can expect in future:
- Meet therapy dog Berkeley and her friend Kathy Baker, who explains the PAWS to Read program that helps young people develop more reading confidence.
- Learn about the items that are included in the library’s Memory Kits and how Alzheimer’s Association caregivers use them to engage people with memory issues.
- Meet Library director Chris Barnickel, who explains how his job is very much like that of a conductor of an orchestra.
- Learn about how to assemble an ofrenda from María Belén, an artist and educator who has given presentations in the SLO Library system about how to use art, intention, and memory to engage with grieving in a thoughtful process.
- Hear Juliane McAdam, president of the SLO County Library Foundation, explain how bequests to the library are wisely invested to best serve library patrons.
Other story ideas in the works include highlighting the many Friends of the Library groups across the SLO County system, exploring how the library and SLO MakerSpace intersect, and celebrating the successes of the library’s Literacy Connection program.
Duchak wants to talk with local parents who use the library to help homeschool their children, interview community leaders about their literary influences and expertise, and connect with nonprofits around library-focused events.
“I want to include profiles of ‘library power users’ to discover how these neighbors get the most out of their library experience,” Duchak says. For an upcoming episode, she has lined up Susie Reddy of the Morro Coast Audubon Society to discuss pro-nature materials in the library, including Explorer Backpacks, David Attenborough films, and field guides.
You can find and follow “We LOVE the Library” on Apple Podcasts or online, and plans call for releasing a new episode twice a month.
The podcast is brought to you by the SLO County Library Foundation. If you have topics you’d like to hear about in future episodes, you can email your ideas directly to Duchak.