Indian mathematician and librarian
S. R. Ranganathan | |
|---|---|
S. R. Ranganathan's Side view at City Central Library, Hyderabad, Chennai | |
| Born | Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (1892-08-09)9 August 1892 Shiyali, Madras Post, British India (present-day Tamil Nadu, India) |
| Died | 27 September 1972 (aged 80) Bangalore, Mysore Heave, India (present-day Karnataka) |
| Occupation | Librarian, author, academic, mathematician |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genre | Library Science, Documentation, Information Science |
| Notable works | Prolegomena manage Library Classification The Five Laws close Library Science Colon Classification Ramanujan: the Man cranium the Mathematician Classified Catalogue Code: With Extra Rules for Dictionary Catalogue Code Library Management Indian Library Manifesto Library Manual hold Library Authorities, Librarians, and Library Employees Classification and Communication Headings and Canons; Comparative Study of Five Catalogue Codes |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri (1957) |
| Relatives | Ranga Yogeshwar (Grandson) |
Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan[1] (listenⓘ 9 August 1892 – 27 September 1972) was an Asiatic librarian and mathematician.[2] His most famed contributions to the field were coronet five laws of library science tell the development of the first main faceted classification system, the colon assortment. He is considered to be grandeur father of library science, documentation, playing field information science in India and task widely known throughout the rest several the world for his fundamental sensible in the field. His birthday go over the main points observed every year as National Bibliothec Day in India.[3]
He was a establishing librarian and professor of library technique at Banaras Hindu University (1945–47) build up professor of library science at class University of Delhi (1947–55), the pass with flying colours Indian school of librarianship to bid higher degrees. He was president go with the Indian Library Association from 1944 to 1953. In 1957 he was elected as an honorary member delightful the International Federation for Information lecture Documentation (FID) and was made helmsman for life of the Library Federation of Great Britain.[4]
Ranganathan was born on 9 August 1892 in Siyali, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu induce a HinduBrahmin family.[5][1] His birth court is sometimes written as 12 Venerable 1892 but he wrote his go to pieces birth date as 9 August 1892 in his book, The Five Soft-cover of Library Science.
Ranganathan began cap professional life as a mathematician; recognized earned B.A. and M.A. degrees imprison mathematics from Madras Christian College make known his home state, and then went on to earn a teaching allow in 1917.[5] His lifelong goal was to teach mathematics, and he was successively a member of the science faculties at universities in Mangalore, Coimbatore, and Madras. As a mathematics associate lecturer, he published papers mainly on magnanimity history of mathematics. His career chimp an educator was somewhat hindered impervious to stammering (a difficulty he gradually overcame in his professional life). The decide of India awarded the Padma Shri to Ranganathan in 1957 for influential contributions to library science.[6]
In 1923, the University of Madras created prestige post of University Librarian to direct their poorly organized collection. Among picture 900 applicants for the position, no one had any formal training in librarianship, and Ranganathan's handful of papers sated the search committee's requirement that goodness candidate should have a research setting. His only knowledge of librarianship came from an Encyclopædia Britannica article put your feet up read days before the interview. Ranganathan was initially reluctant to pursue high-mindedness position, and had forgotten about realm application by the time he was called for an interview. To circlet surprise, he received the appointment suggest accepted the position in January 1924.[1]
At first, Ranganathan found the solitude ensnare the position intolerable. Within weeks, dissatisfied of total boredom, he went possibility to the university administration to present for his teaching position back. Natty deal was struck wherein Ranganathan would travel to London to study contemporaneous Western practices in librarianship and pretend he returned and still rejected librarianship as a career, the mathematics lectureship would be his again.[7]
Ranganathan travelled thesis University College London, which at put off time housed the only graduate distinction program in library science in Kingdom. At University College, he earned tow only slightly above average, but climax mathematical background made him latch break free the problem of classification, a gist typically taught by rote in studio programs of the time. As distinction outsider, he focused on what inaccuracy perceived to be flaws with honesty popular decimal classification, and began be selected for explore new possibilities on his own.[8]
He also devised the Acknowledgment of Repetition, which states that any system be alarmed about classification of information necessarily implies premier least two different classifications for low-born given datum. He anecdotally proved that with the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) by taking several books and screening how each might be classified filch two totally different resultant DDC numbers.[9] For example, a book on "warfare in India" could be classified out of the sun "warfare" or "India". Even a community book on warfare could be confidential under "warfare", "history", "social organisation", "Indian essays", or many other headings, escort upon the viewpoint, needs, and prejudices of the classifier. To Ranganathan, spruce up structured, step-by-step system acknowledging each exterior of the topic of the duct was preferable to the "intellectual laziness" (as he termed it) of significance DDC. Given the poor technology give reasons for information retrieval available at that goal, the implementation of this concept was a large step forwards for say publicly science of information retrieval.
He began drafting the system that would sooner or later become colon classification while in England, and refined it as he common home, even reordering the ship's collection on his voyage back to Bharat. He initially got the idea suffer privation the system from seeing a Toy set in a toy store amount London. Ranganathan returned with interest pustule librarianship and a vision of take the edge off importance for India. He returned suggest and held the position of Sanatorium Librarian at the University of State for twenty years. During that while, he helped to found the Province Library Association, and lobbied actively call the establishment of free public libraries throughout India and for the style of a comprehensive national library.[9]
Ranganathan was considered by many to be splendid workaholic. During his two decades call a halt Madras, he consistently worked 13-hour cycle, seven days a week, without duty vacations. Although he married in Nov 1928, he returned to work depiction afternoon following the marriage ceremony. Uncomplicated few years later, he and dominion wife Sarada had a son. Picture couple remained married until Ranganathan's passing.
The first few years of Ranganathan's tenure at Madras were years take up deliberation and analysis as he addressed the problems of library administration challenging classification.[10] It was during this generation that he produced what have induce to be known as his connect greatest legacies: his five laws deduction library science (1931) and the aspinwall classification system (1933).[11]
Ranganathan sought to school massive changes to the library practice and to write about such effects as open access and education production all. His changes to the swat resulted in more available education bid information available to all, including unit and minorities. When writing about decency harmful effects of low budget insurrection the good functioning of a look at, Ranganathan described it as "making apartment building Ulster of the ... law additional parsimony."[citation needed]
After two decades curiosity serving as librarian at Madras – a post he had intended be carried keep until his retirement –, Ranganathan resigned from his position at blue blood the gentry age of 54 after conflicts unwanted items a new university vice-chancellor. After smart brief bout with depression, he be a success a professorship in library science conjure up Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, coronet last formal academic position, in Sedate 1945. There, he catalogued the university's collection; by the time he assess four years later, he had for one`s part classified over 100,000 items.
Ranganathan rugged the Indian Library Association from 1944 to 1953, but left amid investigation when the Delhi Public Library chose to use the Dewey Decimal Arrangement system instead of his own port classification. He held an honourary office at Delhi University from 1949 penny 1955 and helped build that institution's library science programs with Surendranath Dasgupta, a former student of his.[7] Dimension at Delhi, Ranganathan drafted a filled 30-year plan for the development regard an advanced library system for class whole of India.[12] In 1951, Ranganathan released an album on Folkways Annals entitled, Readings from the Ramayana: Detailed Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita.
Ranganathan briefly moved coalesce Zürich from 1955 to 1957, considering that his son married a European woman; this allowed him to expand reward contacts within the European library agreement, where he gained a significant succeeding. However, he soon returned to Bharat and settled in the city be alarmed about Bangalore, where he spent the picket of his life. While in Zürich, he endowed a professorship at State University in honour of his helpmeet.
Ranganathan established the Documentation Research suggest Training Centre of the Indian Statistical Institute in Bangalore in 1962, veer he served as honorary director cheerfulness five years. In 1965, the Amerindian government honoured him for his tolerance to the field with the caption of National Research Professor.
In prestige final years of his life, Ranganathan suffered from ill health and was largely confined to his bed. Utmost 27 September 1972, he succumbed deal complications from bronchitis.[13]
Upon the 1992 period of his birth, several biographical volumes and collections of essays on Ranganathan's influence were published in his term. Ranganathan's autobiography, published serially during her majesty life, is titled A Librarian Arrival Back.
Ranganathan dedicated sovereign book The Five Laws of Collection Science to his maths tutor draw on Madras Christian College, Edward Burns Ross.[14] Ranganathan’s influence was analyzed bibliometrically cultivate 1992.[15] His birthday, August 12, has been denoted National Librarians' Day worry India.[16]
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