Page 27 - DLIS001_FOUNDATION_OF_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SCIENCE

Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes Guiding Rules: The laws of library science guide the staff in decision making about what
is right and what is wrong in a given situation. As such Ranganathan’s five laws of library
science have found universal acceptance as Pentagon of Library Philosophy.

2.1.3 Variants of the Five Laws of LIS

According to Ranganathan’s own words “One is the generalization of the concept ‘Book’ this has
been emphasized in recent years in the term document”, so Ranganathan later on in his
“Documentation and its Facets” reformulated the laws as:
Documents are for use.

Every reader his/her document.
Every document its reader.
Save the time of the reader.

Library is a growing organism.
In 1998, librarian Michael Gorman (past president of the American Library Association,
2005-2006), recommended the following laws in addition to Ranganathan’s five in his small
book, “Our Singular Strengths”:
Libraries serve humanity.

Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated.
Use technology intelligently to enhance service.
Protect free access to knowledge.
Honour the past and create the future.

In 2004, librarian Alireza Noruzi recommended applying Ranganathan’s laws to the web in his
paper, “Application of Ranganathan’s Laws to the Web”

Web resources are for use.
Every user his or her web resource.
Every web resource its user.

Save the time of the user.
The Web is a growing organism.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. Library is a growing organism.
2. The laws of library science cannot help in solving any conflict.

3. Scientific methods are applicable only in social sciences.

2.2 First Law “Books are for Use”

You may think that the law “Books are for use” is an obvious and self-evident statement. But it
is not. This will become evident if we examine the history of the use of books in libraries.

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