Thank you message from Hennepin County Library Director Scott Duimstra
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2026 season of the Mary Ann Key Book Club. Both our in-person and virtual attendees helped create a discussion that was truly thought-provoking. Author Robin Wall Kimmerer beautifully connected with the book club’s goal of sparking meaningful conversations about past and present injustices. In “The Serviceberry,” she reminded us that reciprocity, community, and the natural world can guide us toward a more generous and connected way of living. This season also highlighted the quiet but powerful role libraries play in fostering these values. They are places where generosity, learning, and connection come alive.
The continued success of the Mary Ann Key Book Club is possible because of the strong partnership between Myron Medcalf and our staff. I’m deeply grateful for Myron’s exceptional moderation and the care he brings to every event. Thank you as well to Friends of the Hennepin County Library and the Star Tribune for their generous support and collaboration.
On a personal note, I’m thankful to have attended this year’s event. These conversations shape our community in meaningful ways, and I’m grateful to be part of that work. Thank you again to everyone who read with us and participated and I’m looking forward to the 2027 season.
Myron Medcalf shares his final reflections on the season
Why start a book club?
I thought about that question on Wednesday because it’s a question I am often asked. In 2020, while the embers of upheaval were still lit after the murder of George Floyd, I thought about the future.
I knew then, when the world had decided to care about the things the Black community had never been given the option to disregard, that the fire would die. I understood then that the protests would not always spill into the streets, that the relentless demands for change, that the DEI programs and hires, that the big checks the philanthropists and corporations would write would all stop one day.
In tragic moments, America becomes disillusioned, unwilling to acknowledge its history and the knife in its back pocket that caused the wound it now grieved. Its tendency had been – and remains – that once it had been satisfied that it had sufficiently shed the tears the moment deserved, it would dry its eyes and move on.
I believed then that a book club – the charge to read, learn, discuss, connect and maybe, empathize – could outlast the unreliability of the emotions that follow the trauma we now witness in 4K. I believed then – and now – the Stoic tenet that we cannot change people, only ourselves. I also believed then that we could create a community of like-minded folks around incredible books and conversations.
Our author talk with Robin Wall Kimmerer at Central Library was the pinnacle of that ambition. Her insistence that we renew our connections to our neighbors – “There is a lot of money in distrust,” she said – and acknowledge our collective relationship to the land beneath our feet was an experience for everyone in attendance.
Why start a book club? For moments like that. She was an author, teacher, philosopher, mother, community member, Indigenous scholar and citizen throughout the course of an insightful dialogue that evening.
I am grateful to everyone attached to this book club: Hennepin County Library, the Star Tribune, Friends of Hennepin County Library and, above all, the participants.
We look forward to finding more discussions and new ways to build the connection between the Mary Ann Key Book Club and the community around it. We’ll also continue to build programming that offers the depth and dialogue that “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” generated.
Thank you.
Discussion question
- Have you experienced examples of gift economies in your own life? Consider some examples of gifts creating community.
 Myron Medcalf and Robin Wall Kimmerer on stage at the May 2026 Mary Ann Key event at Central Library
 Robin Wall Kimmerer signing books at the May 2026 event at Central Library
On Wednesday, May 13, 337 community members attended the author event at Minneapolis Central Library and 948 accounts logged in to attend the livestream. Those watching via livestream included folks participating in watch parties at multiple libraries, community centers, and in the homes of friends and neighbors.
Reflections from attendees:
“This experience in itself was a gift… [After] the peak of Metro Surge… this offered a chance for us to collectively exhale and think about the lessons we learned and systems we created in community with one another… That spark of inspiration is the only way we can survive as a community, we need one another, and I think we all felt that tonight. I’m just so grateful to the library and to Robin for coming and sharing that with us.”
“This was perhaps the best-run program I've ever attended. In addition to Robin's amazing words, the way the Library held space, demonstrated welcoming generosity, and ran a beautiful, efficient program was beyond impressive. I wish every library system in the country were willing and able to do programs like this and at this level of excellence.”
“[Robin Wall Kimmerer] shares a message that is really deep to the earth and to humanity and to everything that is here on earth and sharing it from a place of love… I’m not only taking [her] presence but also a deep desire and yearning and a plan to put into action on what next steps I can take so I can bring this into my own personal life and my community.”
Resources for reading, listening, and learning
Each newsletter, we will highlight two local organizations that serve Native communities and/or support work around sustainability of our state’s incredible land and water resources. Readers are encouraged to learn more about these organizations, in the spirit of reciprocity that runs through this year’s Mary Ann Key title.
Owámniyomni Okhódayapi is an organization devoted to restoring the area known as “Saint Anthony Falls” to its rightful status as a place of ceremony and offerings, a sacred place. It is working with Minneapolis Parks and Recreation to reimagine the space, and it offers informational tours, education, and engagement with the “turbulent waters” of the Ȟaȟa Wakpá (Mississippi River).
Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi (formerly known as Lower Phalen Creek Project) is a Native-led East Side environmental and stewardship non-profit that seeks to foster land restoration and stewardship, cultural connections and healing, and environmental education. It recently held a grand opening for the Wakan Tipi Center in St. Paul on Friday, May 29.
Recommended Hennepin County Library booklists:
Upcoming library programs
Celebrate Juneteenth at the Library
Tuesday, June 16, 6-7:30 p.m.
Webber Park and St. Louis Park Libraries
Join us for a Juneteenth celebration at one of our libraries! At Webber Park, experience a dynamic dance performance by the contemporary African dance group Afrocontigbo, followed by a lively dance party and lawn games. At St. Louis Park, learn about characters from African and African American folktales and the tradition of storytelling in the African American community through a lively storytelling performance with the Black Storytellers Alliance.
Wednesday, June 17, 1-2 p.m.
Nokomis Library
Help sort and label donated seeds for the Nokomis Community Seed Library! A seed library is a collection of community-donated seeds that can be borrowed from the library and planted at home. Volunteer while learning more about seed saving and gardening.
Thursday, June 18, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Nokomis Library
Join us for the Twin Cities book launch for “The Land of Everlasting Sky: A Memoir of Loss and Legacy on the Lake of the Woods,” by Jill D. Swenson. Clear-eyed and deeply personal, this book presents a compelling exploration of the history we inherit and our relationships to the land and to each other.
Saturday, June 20, 10-11 a.m.
St. Louis Park Library
Attend this class for an overview of the concept of sustainable landscape and the basic steps to building a healthy yard and garden. Making smart choices will provide you with a lawn and gardens to be enjoyed for many years, as well as providing habitats for pollinators and other wildlife.
About the Mary Ann Key Book Club
The book club was inspired by a Star Tribune column written by Myron Medcalf – the great-great-great-grandson of Mary Ann Key.
“I’m honored to partner with Hennepin County Library to launch the Mary Ann Key Book Club, named after the matriarch of my family, who was enslaved in Georgia in the 1850s. Purchased for $1,000 at the age of 14, Mary Ann Key persevered. Her body was in bondage, but slavery never stole the freedom of her heart, mind and soul. This book club is about focusing on the truths of the past, our challenges in the present and the possibilities of the future…”
– Myron Medcalf
This program is supported by Friends of the Hennepin County Library. Their generous financial support is helping to provide greater access to print and eBook copies of the featured books. Media partner: Star Tribune.
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