Ranganathan revisited: a review article

Abstract

Pays homage to the work and inspiration of the Indian mathematician and library science scholar, S. R. Ranganathan (1892-1972), with particular reference to his five basic statements about librarianship, known as the five Laws of Library Science, first published in 1931: ‘Books are for use’; ‘Every reader his book’; ‘Every book its reader’; ‘Save the time of the reader’; and ‘The Library is a growing organism’. Argues that, although these five laws are still generally applicable in the computerized library and information services of the 1990s, they require two supplementary laws: ‘Every reader his library’; and ‘Every writer his contribution to the library’. The first supplementary law relates to the technological changes, particularly in telecommunications, that have taken place since Ranganathan’s time. The second supplementary law is concerned with the individual reader’s or citizen’s freedom of expression, as a right that can be put into practice and not merely articulated in principle.