Information Institutions

UNIT 4 LAWS OF LIBRARY SCIENCE

Structure
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Five Laws of Library Science
4.2.1 First Law: Books are for Use
4.2.2 Second Law: Every Reader His /Her Book
4.2.3 Third Law: Every Book its Reader
4.2.4 Fourth Law: Save the Time of the Reader
4.2.5 Fifth Law: Library is a Growing Organism
4.3 New Insights and Wider Interpretation of Five Laws
4.4 Summary
4.5 Answers to Self Check Exercises
4.6 Keywords
4.7 References and Further Reading

4.0 OBJECTIVES
Ranganathan’s five laws provide a paradigm of how libraries function, how they
grow and serve, how they live, and so provide for us, a framework through which
to examine our professional lives and our libraries. Hence the need for this Unit.

After reading this Unit, you will be able to:

• explain the characteristics of laws in general and identify them in
Ranganathan’s five laws;
• describe the Five Laws of Library Science;
• explain the nature of work in library, documentation, and information services
in tune with the guiding principles governed by the Five Laws;
• make use of the Five Laws as a set of principles to initiate any new activity
in library, documentation and information services;
• discuss the services of the library to a variety of information needs of users
in different contexts, in an information society;
• examine relevance of Five Laws in the context of revolutionary changes
taking place in library and information world; and
• discuss the appropriateness of revisions, and additions to the Five Laws
attempted by different authors.

4.1 INTRODUCTION
One of the most significant contributions of Dr.S.R.Ranganathan to the field of
library and information science has been the enunciation of his Five Laws. These
laws were first stated and their formal exposition was provided by the author at
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Library and Information in the Provisional Educational Conference held at Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu) in
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December 1928.

To have a proper understanding of the Five Laws, it is necessary to know the

context in which these laws were formulated. It may be noted that Dr. Ranganathan
had his education in librarianship in the University of London, School of
Librarianship, in the year 1924. After formal training at the University, he had
undertaken an extensive tour of England. This tour provided him an opportunity
to observe the working of the libraries in England. Dr. Ranganathan took keen
interest in understanding the principles and the practices followed in those libraries
and the services rendered to their clientele. He was not convinced of the prevailing
practices in libraries and the rules that were taught to be remembered in the
organisation of library operations. He was not sure of the rationale behind them.
They sounded to Ranganathan more like the rules of thumb (i.e. take it as such
or leave it) type His analytical mind could not submit itself to such mechanical
practices. Therefore, he was engaged in efforts to discover some scientific basis
using which the practices followed in libraries, that he observed, could be
generalised and reduced to certain minimum number of cardinal principles. In
other words, Dr. Ranganathan was in search of normative principles which could
enable us to understand the measures to be devised in order to know what needs
to be done in the library field to make library organisation, management and
operation efficient and universalise its services Also, it was his wish that these
basic principles may contain in a latent form, many other practices not known at
that time, but may surface later. The outcome of this line of thinking on the part
of Dr. Ranganathan resulted in his enunciation of Five Laws of Library Science.
Subsequently, these laws were fully developed and published in book form in
1931.

It must be noted that the Five Laws are a first step towards putting library work
on a scientific basis, providing general principles from which all library practices
could be deduced. Every activity relating to library services has a rationale in
one or another of these laws or in all of them collectively. At this juncture, it is
necessary to emphasise that merely stating the Five Laws – or even understanding
the words – will not automatically lead to enlightenment about the functions of
libraries. Although the laws are simple statements, they demand contemplation
and experience before the richness and import of their meaning will be revealed.
However, contemplating them as we go about our business in our libraries will
provide us with basic tenets to guide us in performing work that fulfils our mission
as librarians and information professionals.

In this Unit, we shall try to study the implication of the Five Laws in the context
of conventional librarianship as well as their relevance in the context of
revolutionary changes taking place in the library and information science (LIS)
profession.

4.2 THE FIVE LAWS OF LIBRARY SCIENCE

Laws are scientific principles, rules of procedure or behaviour. Law is a
generalisation based on a recurring fact or event. Achinstein, P [1971] considers
the following lingual characteristics of a stated law:
• Laws are simple, precise, and few in number
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• Laws are essentially general in nature Laws of Library Science

• Their subject is general

• Syntactically they are general and begin with All, Every or No
• A law expresses a generality which can be used to express regularities.
Keeping the above mentioned characteristics in his mind Dr. Ranganathan
propounded his Five Laws as follows:
• Books are for use
• Every reader his/her book
• Every book its reader
• Save the time of the reader
• The library is a growing organism.
When Ranganathan used the expression books and readers he naturally meant
that books stand for knowledge and information and readers stand for users of
library and information services. In modern studies of knowledge and information
and all related expressions, it must be noted that the carriers and channels of
information and knowledge have changed from print to other forms, but all the
services are revolving round information and users. Hence, the dimensions of
services have expanded widely in scope, although the basic philosophy of the
service remains unaltered. Therefore, these five laws might be restated to suit
the changing context and modern developments taking place in the world of
libraries and information science as such. For example, the five laws were restated
even during the life time of Dr. Ranganathan as under:
• Documents / Information are for use
• Every user his/her document / information
• Every document / information its user
• Save the time of the user
• Document / Information system is a growing organism.
Let us now discuss each of the five laws and its interpretation and implications.

4.2.1 First Law: Books are for Use

By using first law Books are for use you are prone to think that it is a self-evident
truth or simple statement which does not merit serious consideration and
contemplation. But, on deep pondering you change your opinion. This will become
evident if we examine the history of books in libraries. In fact, the earlier accent
is on the preservation of books rather than their use. Medieval libraries were an
example of chained libraries. The books literally were attached to the shelves
with brass chains and could only be used in a single location. Obviously, this
was done for the preservation of books rather than facilitating their use. This
was a natural inclination, at a time when it was very difficult to produce books.
This habit some how continued even after the invention of printing, which
facilitated the easy production of several copies of each book. Although, isolated
examples of reluctance to permit the unrestricted use of books can be occasionally
seen even today, the general position is that books are available for use without
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Library and Information in any let or hindrance. In fact, policies relating to a library should be helpful in
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promoting the objective of books being put to maximum use. Let us now examine
the implications of the first law in the functioning of a library.

I) Implications
The first law of library science has some important messages for library work.
Some of these relate to the location of library, its working hours, library building
and furniture and the staff.

a) Library Location
For example, it has a forward thinking message in terms of the emphasis on
library location. The law advocates that library be located in a more accessible
place in order to encourage more users to use the library. Obviously, it will
be a discouragement for people to use books, if they have to walk long distance
to reach them. At the same time, the location where the library is situated
should be free from noise and other disturbances, so that serious study is
possible. An ideal place for a public library should be a quiet central area,
while a school library should be located in a prominent place in the school
premises. The idea that a university library should constitute the heart of the
university, then it should be reflected in its geographical location as well.

b) Working Hours
Another important message inherent in the first law is that the working hours
of a library should be convenient to most of the users. Many of the libraries
in India need to pay special attention to this aspect and keep them open
when their clientele are not engaged in other activities so that they are in a
position to visit the library. This type of proactive approach in deciding the
working hours of the library will certainly yield good results.

c) Library Building and Furniture

The first law demands that proper attention be paid to the planning and
designing of the library building and the different items of furniture equipped
to the library. The library building should be functional and at the same
time, aesthetic in appeal. The items of furniture should be functional, attractive
to look at. The racks should be designed in such a way that books are placed
at convenient heights facilitating their removal and use by the clientele.
Particularly furniture in children’s library should be specially designed to
attract children. Comfortable furniture always tempts users to frequent the
library. The law also implies the concept of a open-shelf library that is
equipped with tools and furnishings which makes the books it contains useful.
In other words, the first law alerts us to the requirements of properly designed
functional building and comfortable furniture to invite and promote the use
of its resources.

d) Staff
Staff form an important component of any library. The first law of library
science for its fulfilment calls for certain qualifications and qualities for
library staff. Though Dr. Ranganathan has spent considerable space in
discussing about library staff in his exposition of the first law, the essence
boils down to these important attributes: The library staff should possess
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 qualifications that would enable them to organise library efficiently and Laws of Library Science
provide satisfactory services. Obviously, this would ensure the proper use of
books. But, much more important than formal qualifications are, perhaps,
the personal qualities of the library staff. They should be courteous, cheerful
and helpful. Service with a smile should be the motto. The staff should always
remember that, everything that they do in the library is a means towards an
end, and the end is service to the readers. If a potential library user encounters
an unhelpful attitude on the part of the member of the staff, s/he is sure to
turn away permanently from the library.. in such a contingency, the cause of
the first law is not served rather it is defeated. The credibility of the staff, in
respect of their knowledge, ability and personal attitude to readers, is a crucial
factor in the promotion of the use of the books. The attributes discussed
above deserve special consideration while library staff is recruited. This is
necessary to satisfy the requirements of the first law.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of the Unit.
1) State briefly the implications of the first law with references to library staff.
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4.2.2 Second Law: Every Reader His/Her Book

The second law “Every reader his/her book” (the variant form of which is “books
for all”) is perhaps the most under stated; even Dr. Ranganathan acknowledged
that with this one principle lies so much of what libraries mean for society. “The
law relates to the fact that we all have diverse interests and that there is a book
out there to satisfy that for all of us”. In other words, the law stands for the
mandatory provision of library service to each person according to her/his need.
Stated in a different manner, the law advocates the universalisation and
democratisation of library service. However, in earlier days only a privileged
few belonging to aristocracy and upper classes of society were given access to
libraries and books. But, with the advent of democracy which ensured the
participation of every citizen in governance, the position dramatically changed.
Democracy, for its sustenance and survival, needs an educated knowledgeable
citizenry. Hence, education and acquisition of knowledge through whatever
institution possible became the basic right of all citizens without any
discrimination. Hence, the law “Every Reader His/Her Book”.

I) Implications
This law has many important implications for the library. The fundamental issue
it reveals, tension (conflict) between the cost of materials and the basic right of
all persons to have access to materials they need. In providing a library for the
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Library and Information in use of books, one must be mindful of the fact that since no one individual or
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library can acquire all the books, this responsibility needs to be accepted at the
governmental level. Therefore, the second law imposes certain obligations on
the state, library authority of the state, the library staff and the reader.

a) Obligation of the State

It must be emphasised that it is obligatory on the part of the State to develop
and organise a library system capable of providing adequate library service
to all people. This has to be accomplished through suitable legislation, which
should make provision for financial support of the library system and create
suitable mechanism with authority for the coordination of all activities
pertaining to its different units. A goal should be set for the library system
and services best suited for the society must be initiated. The legislation
must be so framed that it would serve as an effective instrument for achieving
the goals and the stated objectives envisioned therein. Finances are always
limiting factors for library development and the objective should be to derive
maximum benefit in terms of library services, with the available limited
funds. The library system envisaged through legislation is the public library
system, which is available to the entire community. But, public library system,
by itself will not be able to provide every reader the books he needs. In fact,
public library system plays only a minimal role in fulfilling the book
requirements of students, teachers and other researchers. Therefore, the
government has an additional responsibility to establish school and college
libraries as also, university and special libraries to cater for the demand of
students, teachers and researchers. Only when the library system of a state is
comprehensive providing library service to all categories of its people, it
can be said that the demands of the second law are met.

b) Obligations of the Library Authority

The second law emphasises the fact that it is obligatory on the part of the
library authority to accept responsibility in respect of book selection and
provision of suitable staff. No library will have enough funds to purchase all
the books that it may require. This is the reason why libraries have to take
recourse to book selection process. In other words, the available finances
have to be judiciously used to purchase most relevant and wanted books.
This necessitates the libraries to ascertain the requirements of their clientele
and formulate proper book acquisition policy. Systematic user surveys help
in identifying the user requirements. It may be emphasised that acquiring a
book which has no suitable or potential demand is a negation of the spirit of
the second law.

The second law implies that an adequate and competent team of staff is
essential to provide every reader her/his book. In other words, a reader should
be able to exploit the resources which are relevant to her/his needs available
in the library. The staff has to play a proactive role in this exercise. In the
absence of competent staff willing to help the reader, s/he may not be in a
position to locate a good number of books useful to her/him. More often
than not, a library finds itself in such a predicament, where users are not
served properly for want of adequate qualified staff. Such a situation should
be avoided.

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Reference service gains its legitimacy and its purpose from the second law. In Laws of Library Science
his description of the second law, Ranganathan explains that reference function
is critical. He observes that it is the business of library staff “to know the reader,
to know the books, and to actively help in the finding by every person his or her
book”. Reference librarians are trained to bring readers to their books, either
through formal research instruction, informally in one to one reference interview
or by the compilation of bibliographies, research guides, exhibits, etc. In a sense,
patrons use the skill of reference librarian to find the library materials they need.

The reader also has certain responsibilities cast on her/him by the second law. It
particularly wants the reader adhere to the rules of the library in respect of loan
and use of books. If the reader retains the book beyond the period of loan, s/he is
depriving other readers, who may want to use the book. There are some readers
who misplace books with a view to monopolise, or tear off pages from books or
even steal them. This undoubtedly leads to the gross violation of the second law.
The readers should be made conscious of such violations and their consequences
by the library staff through short programmes of user education.

With best efforts, it will not be possible for any library to be self-sufficient.
There would be hardly any library which is capable of ensuring all the demands
of its clientele depending on its own resources. In other words, this points to the
need for resource sharing among libraries. The second law envisions emergence
of resource sharing library networks, both at national and international levels, to
satisfy its expectations fully.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of the Unit.
2) How does the second law provide guidelines for book selection in a library?
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4.2.3 Third Law: Every Book its Reader

The third law of library science is “Every Book its Reader”. The approach of this
law is oriented towards the book. As per the law, every book in a library should
have a chance of finding its appropriate reader and be useful to her/him. In other
words, investment in unused books amounts to wastage of funds and must be
avoided under all circumstances. The mission of any librarian is to build a well-
organised collection of resources in order to maximise the chance that users will
find what they need. The third law implicitly means that “resources look for
users” in fact, the duty of the librarian is to help the library resources find the
people who want and need them most. Dr. Ranganathan points out, that library
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Library and Information in users often, do not know enough about available resources to identify what to
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ask for. According to him “the majority of readers do not know their requirements,
and their interests take definite shape only after seeing and handling a well-
organised collection of books”. This principle naturally addresses the fundamental
issue of open access. In the open access system, books are arranged in the shelves
in classified order and readers have freedom of access to them. In the course of
readers browsing through shelves; they may come across books of interest to
them, the existence of which they may not be aware of. The chances of readers
noticing the books and reading them are enhanced by the open access system.
The third law, therefore, definitely advocates open access.

Adopting an open access system for a library imposes certain responsibilities

and obligations on the part of the staff as well as the readers. For example, the
classified arrangement of books i.e. the arrangement of books in the order of
their relationship with particular subject should be constantly maintained. This
means that the shelf-rectification, i.e. restoring the misplaced books to their correct
place on the shelf should be done by the library staff on a regular basis. They
should also provide shelf guides, bay guides, etc, which guide the readers to
their appropriate regions and shelves in the stack room.

Readers, on their part, should conduct themselves with a sense of responsibility.

They should not try to replace the books they have taken out because in that
process they are likely to misplace books. They are also advised to resist the
temptation to misplace books deliberately, mutilate or steal books or indulge in
other unsocial activities. Readers should note that a book misplaced is a book
lost for ever. There are both advantages and disadvantages in practicing open
access system. In case, the open access system is practiced, it must be done in a
balanced and orderly manner, so that its advantages outweigh the disadvantages,
the system definitely contributes to the satisfactory fulfilment of the third law of
library science. In addition to have open access system; the library should adopt
aggressive promotional activities and innovative services in order to bring the
library resources closer to their users. There are many ways to do this. One of the
ways is distribution of monthly list of books added to the library to the readers
on a regular basis. This will be helpful in bringing such books to the notice of
their potential users. The newly added books should be displayed prominently in
the library for some time before sending them to the stacks, so that they may
catch the attention of the readers and are read by those who are interested in
them.

Another innovative technique to draw the attention of the potential users to library
resources is organisation of book exhibitions, which have a bearing on topical
themes to enhance the chances of the books finding their appropriate users.

The third law also advocates maintenance of a well designed library catalogue
with effective cross references, and added entries meeting the different approaches
of readers. Of course, the importance of reference service cannot be over
emphasised in this connection. Ultimately, as Ranganathan asserted “it should
be the business of … the librarian … to adopt all the recognised methods of
attracting the public to the library so that every potential reader may be converted
into an actual one, thereby increasing the chances for the fulfilment of the third
law.

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Self Check Exercise Laws of Library Science

Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.

ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of the Unit.
3) Explain briefly how open access facilitates better use of the library.
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4.2.4 Fourth Law: Save the Time of the Reader

The fourth law presents the biggest challenge to the library administrator. Policies
must always be formulated keeping in view the needs of the readers (users) in
mind. For example, aspects like hours of operation must be set in such a way to
ensure the most appropriate and convenient access to patrons who rely on the
library for their study and research needs. The collection must be arranged in an
inviting clear and obvious way so as not to waste the time of the user in searching
for the books they need. Library users may be busy people, and they should not
be made to wait longer than necessary to get their needs met. They should get
exact and fast service from the library. It must also be noted that in many
individuals, intellectual interest may exist only momentarily and unless it is
satisfied at the moment of its existence, it may vanish. Hence, the importance of
the law “Save the Time of the Reader”. It means satisfied library users. In other
words, the prime measure of library’s success, it is important to note that frustrated
or disappointed users means that the library has failed in its responsibility and
has grossly violated the dictates of the fourth law and failed in its fulfilment. Let
us now try to analyse the full implications of this law and the various operational
methods employed by libraries to save the time of readers.

I) Implications

Just as the third law the fourth law also pleads for open access system in libraries.
The justification is that in closed access libraries, the readers are not allowed to
the stacks where books are shelved and have to requisition for books they need.
The procedure is that they prepare a list of books they want after consulting the
catalogue, and hand over the list to a library staff member. S/he may locate some
of the books asked for and report the non-availability of others. On seeing the
books, the reader may discover that none of these books is relevant to her/his
need. S/he has to prepare another list and repeat the operation and wait again for
the result. This trial and error method may consume lot of her/his time before
her/his needs are met. A lot of time is spent counter productively in these processes.
Obviously, this frustrates the library user. A lot of user’s time is saved, if the
library follows open access system and maintains a well organised collection of
books.

There are other ways to satisfy the law. One of them is following proper
classification system which would bring together books on specific subject and
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Library and Information in also related subjects. Another way is to construct a well designed catalogue which
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meets the different approaches of readers. It is important to note that while
catalogues are tools for retrieving items accurately, they become items that waste
the time of the reader, if items are haphazardly catalogued or if the cataloguing is
excessively focussed on the intricacies of the technique.

Another important aspect which has a great relevance to the Fourth law is the
charging system (i.e. loan of books) followed in the library. Earlier systems were
time consuming and some what cumbersome. Hence, efforts have been made to
simplify the process with a view to reduce the time involved in the operation. As
a result, modern systems like photo-charging system, ticket system, computerised
charging system, barcode system and radio frquency identification (RFID) system
have been evolved. Adopting any one of these systems will lead to substantial
reduction of time in the issue and return process which the fourth law strongly
advocates.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of the Unit
4) Discuss the operational methods employed by libraries to save the time of readers.
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4.2.5 Fifth Law: Library is a Growing Organism

The fifth law is Library is a growing organism. Dr. Ranganathan compares library
to a growing organism. In a living organism the growth is of two kinds: the child
growth and the adult growth. We can notice that child growth is characterised by
increase in physical dimensions and it is fast and visible. On the other hand, the
growth in adults is mainly in the nature of replacement of cells. It is a kind of
internal qualitative change, which may not be perceived, and as such, not visible.
When we say library is a growing organism, we mean that library is not a static
entity, but a dynamic growing entity. In other words, the dynamic nature of the
library be properly grasped and provided for right from the time of starting of a
library so that its growth is not inhibited due to lack of far-sight and planning.
On further analysis, we know that the basic components of a library comprise:
i) the book stock (or resources), ii) the staff, iii) the readers, iv) the physical
infrastructure such as the building, furniture and equipment. When we say that a
library grows, we envisage growth in all these components. Naturally, the fifth
law has implications for each one of these components.

I) Implications
Let us try to analyse these implications and try to understand the guidance we
can derive from the fifth law in solving the problems presented by the dynamic
growth associated with the library.
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a) Book Stock Laws of Library Science

In the initial stages of development, the growth of books including the

periodicals will be rather fast. This naturally impacts the size of the stack
rooms, size of card cabinets, size of the catalogue room, number of periodical
display cabinets and the number of book racks for accommodating the books.
Also, as the book collection grows, and the newly added books are
interpolated in the classification arrangement, there will be constant
movement of books on shelves. This would necessitate re-labelling of shelves
periodically. This is essential to reflect the correct position of arrangement
of books for easy retrieval.

b) Readers
When the library functions properly in keeping with the spirit of the first
law of library science, the readers of the library are bound to grow. That
means the readers need proper facilities by way of reading space etc. and
new types of services need to be organised.

c) Staff
It must be mentioned that mere quantitative growth does not mean anything.
There must be qualitative growth also. This requires the number of staff
must be increased commensurate with the increase in readers and books to
initiate new services to suit the needs of the new readers and to improve the
existing services to meet the changed demands of the readers and personalise
them with reference to service. The qualifications and skills of the staff need
to be updated to meet the changing circumstances. The staff should be
provided with opportunities to receive training in new areas of professional
development. The motto of the staff should be to render efficient service and
save the time of the readers. For this purpose, constant updating of skills and
growth in professionalism by learning innovative techniques and new areas
of professional development is necessary.

d) Classification and the Catalogue

One of the implications of increasing intake of books on a variety of new
subjects is that the classification scheme adopted should be hospitable to
new subjects. It must enable the classifier to allocate a unique class number
to each subject and must facilitate easy retrieval. The growth factor also
calls for a card catalogue built on sound principles to help the readers to
know the contents of library without difficulty and the catalogue should
facilitate easy interpolation of entries. It should be a easy locating tool.

Libraries which grow fast, especially, the larger ones, need to modernise
their services by taking recourse to computerisation of all the house keeping
operations. This results in the efficiency of service.

The fifth law also advocates that care be taken while planning and designing
a library building by making provision for the expansion of the building
both horizontally and vertically. The need for more space often arises sooner
than anticipated and lack of provision for expansion would block the
development of library.

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Library and Information in e) Weeding of Books
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The development plans for a library should also include provision for weeding
out obsolete books and adding new ones which are relevant and useful.
Weeding need not necessarily mean the discarding of books. It only means
removal of books from a library where their relevance has ceased in order to
make room for current and relevant books. Such books may be stored where
they are available for occasional use. Different libraries in a region may
cooperate in planning a storage facility for locating the weeded out books in
a central place so that readers in need of such books may go there and consult
them.

In the foregoing pages, we have discussed the implications and interpretations

of the five laws of library science in a traditional manner. Their adequacy
and relevance in meeting the demands of changing information environment
is discussed in the next section.

4.3 NEW INSIGHTS AND WIDER

INTERPRETATION OF FIVE LAWS
A sea changing is taking place in all facets of human society. While knowledge
and information have always been instrumental in promoting the material progress
at every stage of societal development, the last 50 years have witnessed spectacular
developments in the growth, access and availability of information and
knowledge. This change is generally attributed to the advancements that have
taken place in information communication technologies (ICTs). As a result,
knowledge and information can be accessed today instantaneously, irrespective
of its location and made available on a computer screen, downloaded and stored
for future use. Though, the bulk volume and variety in which knowledge and
information is disseminated do not pose any problem of access and availability,
the fundamental problem of use and service to the user remains still some what
unsolved even today. Ranganathan’s laws, though formulated in the context of
traditional libraries and their use, and services rendered by them to the user
community, it is the opinion of many professional experts that these laws have
not lost their relevance even in the context of new developments such as the
Internet System, World Wide Web, Digital and Virtual Libraries.

These laws “continue to give us a blue print for our professional values that is as
relevant now, as it was in 1931. The language may be seen as restrictive, but the
underlying values inherent in them means they can be continuously interpreted
for the future” . As a matter of fact, many of the scholars have attempted to do
so. For example: Rettison [1992], Chappell [1976], Naun [1994], Gorman[1998],
Kuronen and Pekkarinen [1999], Croft [2001], Leiter [2003], Satija [2003],
Noruzi [2004] and Choudhury et al. [2006] have provided new insights relating
the adequacy and relevance of Ranganathan’s five laws in the present context
and their future value.

Let us try to understand the significant aspects discussed in their writings.

• James A Retting [1992] while paying his tributes to Dr. Ranganathan on the
occasion of his birth centenary discussed the five laws and opined that these
laws needed to be extrapolated. He conceived a sixth law “Every reader his
106
 freedom” as applicable only to the type of service such as instruction or Laws of Library Science
provision of information.
• Michael Gorman has reinterpreted Ranganathan’s laws in the context of
today’s library and its likely future, and reformulated them calling them as
[Gorman’s] “Five New Laws of Librarianship”.
They are:
1) Libraries serve humanity;
2) Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated;
3) Use technology intelligently to enhance service;
4) Protect free access to knowledge; and
5) Honour the past and create the future.
Gorman’s laws are not a revision of Dr. Ranganathan’s laws. They are another
completely separate set, from the point of view of a librarian practicing in a
technological society [Middleton 1999].

• Kuromen and Pekkarinen Paivi in their work entitled Ranganathan revised:

a review article, made a critical study and analysis of the five laws and
concluded that the underlying philosophy of the Five Laws is fundamental
and works well in the context of traditional library environment. But, in the
context of modern technological developments and the changes that have
taken place in the very concept of a library resulting in a paradigm shift in
the information world, giving rise to a situation in which the information –
which is instant power – flows globally and is delivered or accessed at the
speed of light, Ranganathan’s laws, though valid, may be inadequate. With
convincing reasons and rationale, they established the need for additional
laws to cope with the situation. They proposed two new laws in their writings.
These are: 6th Law: “Every reader his library”.
7th Law: “Every writer his contribution to the library”.
In the opinion of these authors, reader means a searcher and library perhaps
connotes the virtual type? These two new laws dwell on the new cooperative
and interactive relations between the users and the documents of the virtual
library. However, their interpretation in consonance with the five laws of
Ranganathan needs to be further studied before their validity is established.
Even Francis Miksa … opines that “it is appropriate to paraphrase S. R.
Ranganathan’s second and third laws of library science. Instead of, Every
reader his book and Every book its reader, new technology appears to be
making possible, Every reader his library and Every library its reader”.

• Recognising Ranganathan’s five laws of library science and their underlying

concepts as powerful inspirations for social change, Mentor Cana [2003],
analysed the “Open Source Software”, as defined by Open Source Initiative
(OSI) and its congruency with the five laws. He felt that since the underlying
concepts upon which the five laws are built had profound impact on our
society, then the proponents of open source movement can learn a lesson or
two from that example in achieving their objective. Cana explains that a
book is a basic element of Ranganathan’s laws: it contains objective
knowledge. This calls for defining the comparative basic elements of software
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Library and Information in development. Hence, he takes the term Software to be the basic element: it
Social Perspective
contains objective knowledge. He uses the term Software to connote a
software product or software modules that can be used to build software
products and believes that the five laws of the “Software Library” could be:
1) Software is for use
2) Every user his / her software (or software for all)
3) Every software its user
4) Save the time of the user
5) A Software Library is a growing organism.
It must be mentioned here the OSI definition is congruent with the first law:
Software is for use. The very reason open source software is developed is
that, it can be used. The second, third and fourth laws are dependent on the
existence of the software library. Though, there are repositories of various
open sources online, the collections are not as organised as the library system.
Open source movement can attempt to apply some lessons from the evolution
of libraries in establishing and streamlining the software library concept
bearing in mind here that the producers and users of software are different
than producers and users of books. In this connection we can just imagine
the importance and power of bibliography control over software in
information society, being that software has the potential to be more pervasive
when compared to pervasiveness of books in our society.

• One of the most useful papers which provides significant insights and wider
interpretation of Ranganathan’s five laws and establishes their relevance in
21st century is the paper authored by Alireza Noruzi A[2004] entitled
“Application of Ranganathan’s Five Laws to the Web”. The paper poses the
question; “does the web save the time of users?” and attempts to answer the
question by analysing the application of five laws of Ranganathan to the
Web and reinterpreting them in the context of the Web. “The Five Laws of
the Web” formulated by him are:
1) Web resources are for use.
2) Every user his / her Web resource.
3) Every Web resource its user.
4) Save the time of the user.
5) The Web is a growing organism.
Before we actually discuss the impact on the Web, we need to know briefly
what the Web is and what it actually contains? The World Wide Web (WWW)
is an Internet system that distributes graphical, hyperlinked information, based
on the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). The Web is the global hypertext
system providing access to documents written in a script called Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML) that allows its contents to be interlinked, locally
and remotely. The Web was designed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee at the
European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva [Nouzi,
2004]. It provides materials and makes them online accessible, so that they
may be used. The Web consists of contributions from any one who wishes to
contribute, and the quality of information or the value of knowledge is rather
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 opaque, due to the lack of any kind of peer reviewing. It may also be Laws of Library Science
mentioned that the Web is an unstructured and highly complex mix of all
types of information carriers produced by different kinds of people and
searched by a variety of users. It was designed to meet the human need to
share information resources, knowledge and experience. The Web masters
want people to interact with their websites and pages, click on them, read
them, and print them if they need. In other words, websites are meant for use
and not for admiration. The main objective of the Web is to help users all
over the world, by catering for their information requirements. It is in this
context, The five laws of the Web came into existence. In fact, they are really
the foundations for any Web user-friendly system. What they advocate is
universal access right of cyber citizenship in the information age.

• The first law: “Web resources are for use” is very important because
information serves no purpose, if it is not utilised and at least available for
people to attempt to learn. The role of the Web is to serve the individual,
community and service, and to maximise social utility in the communication
process. To satisfy the first law, the web must acquire materials and make
them accessible so that they can be used. Some webmasters are currently
closing their files by password protective systems, and others are charging
fees – the first law admonishes such people. Another point that the first law
emphasises is about service. In order to deliver and reap the rewards of
services, the Web must identify the benefits that society can reasonably expect
and then devise means of delivering those benefits. In other words, the law
dictates the development of systems that accommodate the use of Web
resources. For example, updating and regular indexing of Website resources
facilitates the use of site resources and the Web in general.

• The second law: “Every user his / her Web resource” has many implications.
It reveals the fundamental need anywhere in the world. This makes diffusion
and dissemination very important. In other words, each web resource should
think of potential user before Website is created. This means webmasters
must know their users well, if they are to provide them the materials they
need for their study and research. The second law also dictates that Web
serves all users, regardless of social class, sex, age, ethnic group, religion or
any other consideration. The law emphasises that every cybercitizen has a
right to information. Webmaster and search engine designers should do their
best to meet cybercitizens’ needs.

• The third law: “Every Web resource its user”. How can a webmaster find a
user for every web resource? There are many ways in which a web can actively
work to connect its users. But the most important aspect which should be
kept in mind, in this context, is that webmaster should add content with
specific user needs in mind and they should make sure that the users can
find the content they need easily. Webmasters should make certain that the
content they add is something their users have identified as a need and avoid
cluttering up their Website with content no one seems to care about.

• The fourth law: “Save the time of the user”. This law has been responsible
for many reforms in Website administration. A Website must examine every
aspect of its policies, rules, and systems with the one simple criterion that
saving the time of the user is vital to achieve the Website’s mission. In order
109
Library and Information in to save the time of the user, Websites need effectively and efficiently design
Social Perspective
systems that will enable user to find what they are looking for quickly and
accurately. At the same time, the Websites they are searching should make
them available most of the information that could be potentially useful. In
other words, the fourth law emphasises efficient service to the users. This
implies that a well designed and easy to understand guide map or index to
the Website.

• The fifth law: “The Web is a growing organism”. The web reflects and
represents the changes taking place in the World as the society moves forward.
In the process, a large quantity of information is added to it. Hence, a Web is
a growing organism. We need to plan and build with the expectation that the
Web and its users will grow and change over time. To cope with the dynamic
situation, it is necessary to keep our own skill levels moving forward. The
fifth law alerts us by emphasising the vital point that change and growth go
together, and require flexibility in the management of Web collection, in the
use of cyberspace, in the retention and deployment of users, and in the nature
of Web programs. The law advocates proper and systematic planning to meet
the requirements of change and growth.

In conclusion, these laws are not only applicable to the Web in general, but
characterise the establishment, enhancement, and evaluation of online
databases and digital library services, as well. These five laws concisely
represent the ideal and the organisational philosophy of the Web. No doubt
the five laws of the Web prove useful in the evaluation of Websites.

Self Check Exercise

Note: i) Write your answer in the space given below.
ii) Check your answer with the answers given at the end of the Unit
6) Explain briefly the implications of five laws in the wider context of changes
taking place in the library and information world.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
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......................................................................................................................

4.4 SUMMARY
This Unit discusses the five laws of library science propounded by Dr. S.R.
Ranganathan. While these laws seem simple on first reading, on second thoughts
and deep contemplation, the richness and import of their meaning will be revealed.
The five laws provide a paradigm of how libraries function, how they grow and
serve, how they live, and so provide for us a framework through which to examine
our professional lives and our libraries. These laws are the lens through which
practitioners can inform their decision making and set their business priorities,
while staying focussed on the user. It may be emphasised that the five laws of
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Ranganathan continue to give us a blue print for our professional values that is Laws of Library Science
as relevant today as it was in 1931. The language may be seen as restrictive, but
the underlying values inherent in them mean they can be continuously
reinterpreted for the future. New information and communication technologists
suggest that the scope of Ranganathan’s laws may appropriately be extended to
the Web. In Noruzi’s opinion “these laws are as applicable to the current practice
of the Web as of tomorrow. These laws are not only applicable to the Web in
general but characterise the establishment, enhancement, and evaluation of online
databases and digital library services as well. These five laws concisely represent
the ideal service and organisational philosophy of the Web. … we can evaluate
web site by applying the Five Laws of the Web”. Since 1992, the 100th anniversary
of Ranganathan’s birth, several modern scholars of library science have attempted
to update his five laws, or they reworded them for other purposes. Some of these
are referred to in this Unit.

4.5 ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES

1) The first law is a statement that emphasises the use of materials available in
library. Evidently the staff that serve the readers of library must have the
abilities to organise their collection efficiently. The law dictates the
development of systems that accommodate the use of library material. For
this purpose, they should have the knowledge about the collection available
in the library. The staff should know how to use the various tools in the
library to provide access to the documents stocked in the library. The more
the knowledge about the staff about subjects, the better would be the service
to users. For instance, proper and regular shelving of library materials by the
staff and logical and topical arrangement of materials facilitate their use by
readers. Besides knowledge and skills, the library staff should be courteous
and should be cheerful to help the readers. In other words, the first law
advocates that the library staff must take care to provide a facility and an
organised collection that invite and promote the use of library resources.
Users rate the library on the basis of the way the library staff shows keenness
to assist them. In fact, the credibility of the staff, both in respect of their
knowledge and their personal attitude to readers, is a general factor in the
promotion of the use of books.

2) The second law has many important implications for the library. ‘Books for
all’ irrespective of the type of readers is the main message of the second law
of library science. It may reveal the conflict between the cost of materials
and the basic right of all persons to have access to the materials they need.
In providing a library for the use of books, one must always be mindful of
the fact that since no one individual can own all the available books, one of
the primary obligations of the library is to acquire body of literature or research
materials that will benefit each of the readers and researchers. The freedom
to access writings of all kinds and inform their own minds on topics that
others may wish to suppress. The second law reminds us to be impartial in
our dealings with our users. We may not like what they request from us, we
may think a book or other resource is low-brow, but we should never place
our own prejudices in the way of access. Users’ information requirements
are the prime consideration for building a collection in a library. In other
words, the collection the library is building and maintaining must be
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Library and Information in representative and adequate to fulfil the expectations of the majority of its
Social Perspective
community of users. The book selection policy should therefore be determined
on the basis of the findings of the users’ survey. Library should not be stocked
with material that is not wanted by its clientele.

3) The third law of the library science addresses the fundamental issue of access.
The need to provide easy access to materials is one way of putting people
together with what they require. Equally putting, books into the hands of the
people who do not necessarily know which book they actually need is at the
heart of the third law. We could interpret reader development as being part
of the third law, since within its remit we promote books to the users that
may not be known to them and that we feel may offer them opportunities for
enrichment those other titles. Allowing readers to browse a collection through
open access is one of the inherent messages provided by third law. The open
access system facilitates better use of books because it gives freedom to
readers to choose what they want. The browsing facility provided by the
open access system ensures the readers chances of getting at their particular
item. It certainly saves the time of the reader to get the appropriate documents.
The advantages of the open access system outweigh the disadvantages
associated with its implementation.

4) Time is a precious commodity. Saving the time of the reader has always
been a concern of the librarian. In fact, the fourth law presents the biggest
challenge to the library administrator. This is the reason why libraries create
catalogues, bibliographies, indexes and abstracts. Saving the time of the reader
also relates to how we actually organise the library. The most important
aspect which the staff of the library should remember in this connection is
that catalogues and other devices are tools for retrieving items accurately;
they become items that waste the time of readers, if items are haphazardly
catalogued or if the cataloguing is excessively focussed on the intricacies of
the art. However, when considering the time of the user as the vital notion, a
simple and effective system is what is called for. Adequate staffing of
reference, information, and circulation desks, as well as telephone reference,
also helps patrons find needed materials quickly. Saving the time of the
reader means providing efficient, thorough access to materials. It means
satisfied library users. This is the prime measure of success of any library;
frustrated or disappointed users mean that the library has failed in its duty
and its responsibility. Hence, the library staff must make every effort to make
its service more efficient.

5) The five laws of library science of Ranganathan were a first step towards
putting library work on a scientific basis, providing general principles from
which all library practices could be deduced. During his life time Ranganathan
himself revised and reworded them to suit the work of documentation centres
and documentation service. During the period when Information Science
was developing Ranganathan’s five laws were interpreted to suit the
information work (service) and the functions related to information
institutions. However, since 1992, the 100th birth anniversary of Dr.
Ranganathan, a number of modern scholars of Library and Information
Science have attempted to update, reword, or reinterpret the five laws of
Ranganathan. Some of the major efforts in this direction are briefly considered
in the following paragraphs.
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 In 1992, James R. Retting enunciated a sixth law, as an extension of Laws of Library Science
Ranganathan’s five laws. It read as “Every reader his freedom”. It was
supposed to be applicable only to the type of service (i.e. instruction or
provision of information).

It may be noted that book, readers, and library are the basic elements of
Ranganathan’s laws. Even if we replace these key words with other elements,
Ranganathan’s laws still work very well. Based on five laws (of Ranganathan),
many researchers have presented different principles. For example, “Five
new laws of librarianship” by Michael Gorman became famous. Gorman, it
appears, reinterpreted Ranganathan’s Laws in the context of today’s library
and its likely future, and reformulated them calling them as [Gorman’s] “Five
New Laws of Librarianship”.
They are:
1) Libraries serve humanity.
2) Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated.
3) Use technology intelligently to enhance service.
4) Protect free access to knowledge; and
5) Honour the past and create the future.
Obviously, Gorman’s laws are not a revision of Dr. Ranganathan’s Laws,
but another completely separate set, from the point of view of a librarian
practicing in a technological society. It may be mentioned that new
information and communication technologists suggest hat the scope of
Ranganathan’s five laws may be appropriately be extended to the Web. In
fact, Noruzi has analysed Ranganathan’s five laws in the context of the Web
and provided the rationale as to how they are applicable in the case of Web
design and Web sites evaluation. The five laws in their interpreted version
help to identify the Web a powerful inspiration for technological, educational
and social change.

Cana (2003) established the fact that Ranganathan’s five laws could be used
as normative principles in the case of open source software, and advocated
that they be used as guiding principles. Similarly David Mc Menemy observed
that Ranganathan’s laws remain relevant in numerous areas of modern library
and information practice, and will continue to be reinterpreted by the
profession for a long time to come.

4.6 KEYWORDS
Book : A packaged carrier of information and knowledge.
Growing Organism : A biological phenomenon indicating growth, not
necessarily indicated externally.
Information : A recorded message, irrespective of physical form
or content.
Information Society : A new form of social existence in which the storage,
production, flow, etc. of networked information
plays the central role.
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Library and Information in Knowledge : Organised information irrespective of the physical
Social Perspective
form.
Reader / User : A person using the resources of library; a customer
of information institutions.
World Wide : An Internet System that distributes graphical
Web (WWW) hyperlinked information, based on the hypertext
transfer protocol (HTTP) the Web is the global
hypertext system providing access to documents
written in a script called Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML). It was designed in 1989 by Tim
Berners - Lee at the European Organisation for
Nuclear Research (CERN).

4.7 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Achinstein, Peter. Law and Explanation: An Essay in Philosophy of Science.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971. Print.

Cana, M (2003). Open Source and Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science.
Web. 21 September 2012 <http://www.kmentor.com/socio-tech-info/archives/
000079.html>

Cloonan, M.V. and J.G Dove. “Ranganathan Online: Do Digital Libraries Violate
the Third Law?” Library Journal (1 April 2005). Web <http://
www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?>

Dasgupta, Arjun (2007). “Library Staff and Ranganathan’s Five Laws”. IASLIC
Bulletin 57.4(2007): 195-204. Print.

Gorman, M. (1995). “The Five New Laws of Librarianship”. American Libraries

26.8(1995): 784-785. Print.

--- . “The Five Laws of Library Science: Then and Now”. School Library Journal
44.7(1998): 20-23. Print.

Jayarajan, P. “The Increasing Relevance of the Five Laws of Ranganathan”.

DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology 12.5(1992): 21-23. Print.

Kuronen, T. and P. Pekkarinen. “Ranganathan Revisited: A Review Article”.

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 31.1(1999): 45-48. Print.

Leiter, R.A. “Reflections on Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science”. Law

Library Journal 95.3 (2003): 411-418. Print.

Mc Menemy, David. “Ranganathan’s Relevance in the 21st Century”. Library

Review 56.2 (2007): 97-101. Print.

Middleton, t. (1999). The Five Laws of Librarianship. Web.< http://

wwwz.hawaii.edu/-trishmi/610a.html>

Noruzi, A. “Application of Ranganathan’s Laws to the Web”. Webology 1.2 (2004)

Article 8. Print.
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Rajan, T.N. (1999). “Laws of Library Science”. Library and Information Society. Laws of Library Science
Unit - 2. BLIS 01. New Delhi: IGNOU, 1999. Print.

Ranganathan, S.R. Five Laws of Library Science. Madras: Madras Library

Association, 1931. Print.

Satija, M.P. “The Five laws of Information Society and Virtual Libraries Era”.
SRELS Journal of Information Management, 40.2 (2003): 93-104. Print.

Satyanarayana, R. “Dr. Ranganathan and Library Profession: A Centenary

Tribute”. IASLIC Bulletin, 37.3 (1992): 129-135. Print.

115