THE TRADITIONAL MISSION of libraries is to store and lend books. But Lisa Lintner believes they also have a higher calling: to make sure the public can freely enjoy them. All of them.
As director of the Johnson County Public Library in Franklin, as well as through her ongoing work with the Indiana Library Federation and Indiana Freadom to Read (a statewide coalition battling book censorship), she has become one of our state’s leading voices for intellectual freedom and equal access to information. It’s a passion she comes by naturally—she regularly sees firsthand the need for information to be more readily available.
“Patrons come to us for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with checking out a book,” Lintner says. “In 2026, we’re connectors. We connect people with the information or services they need.”
Like modern libraries nationwide, hers serves everyone, from immigrants who rely on the free internet to access needed resources to seniors learning new technology. Her desire to expedite the unfettered flow of data to hungry minds drives her work with Indiana Freadom to Read, with which she helps coordinate statewide efforts to defend the dissemination of diverse materials and support librarians facing book challenges. Lintner underscores the importance of protecting the right to read for all Hoosiers.
“The thing I like to tell everyone is that it’s absolutely fine for you to not like a book,” Lintner says. “It’s also absolutely fine for you to not allow your child to read a certain book. But you do not have the right to demand that book be removed for everybody.”
She sees today’s library as a frontline institution in the struggle against censorship, the nurturing of democracy, and the growth of community well-being. Lintner believes that no matter your background or current circumstances, you should be able to tap into the same resources as anyone else.
“I’m not a guardian of books,” she says. “I like to think of myself as a champion for people.”
