Page 42 - DLIS001_FOUNDATION_OF_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SCIENCE

Unit 2: Laws of Library Science

2.7 Summary Notes

The five laws of library science are the mainsprings from which all library activities
emerge.
The five laws of library science are fundamental laws of library science, which provide the
rationale for a unifying theory of library science.

Dr. Ranganathan’s vision and his five laws implicitly or explicitly will continue to spur
and stimulate wide dissemination of information and the education of the masses through
expansion of libraries and information networks as open schools and universities.
With the help of these laws, we may derive postulates, canons and principles applicable in
different field of library and information science and are useful in the teaching of different
branches of library science.

They constitute the basic philosophy of library science and of librarianship. They help us
to find a rationale for everything that we do or should do in a library.

These laws have made an impact on the growth and development of theory and practice
and will provide source of inspiration and guidance in the years to come.

They keep us constantly alert to the new methods and practices that we should introduce
in order that the library may serve its community better.

Collectively and severally they constitute a yardstick for testing the validity of everything
done in relation to a library.

Their potentiality for innovativeness in library and information service is infinite.
The five laws have been reinterpreted in the changing context of information.
The implications of each law clearly indicate their validity and usefulness in the expanding
role of information in national development.
The five laws fit into the modern framework of an information society.
The five laws have been interpreted in the changing context of information.

Every student, teacher of library science and the librarian must follow these laws in its
true spirit and context.

2.8 Keywords

Books: A packaged carrier of information and knowledge.

Discarding: Get rid of (someone or something) as no longer useful or desirable.
Growing Organism: A biological phenomenon indicating growth, not necessarily indicated
externally.

Implications: A meaning or consequence implied by an action or statement.
Information: A recorded message, irrespective of physical form or content.
Information Society: A society in which the central instrument of change, force and direction is
information and knowledge.
Knowledge: Organised information irrespective of the form physical.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 37