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Padmashri Dr. S. R. Ranganathan

Know about Libraries

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services. The collections can be of print, audio, and visual materials in numerous formats, including maps, prints, documents, microform (microfilm/microfiche), CDs, cassettes,videotapes, DVDs, video games, e-books, audiobooks and many other electronic resources.

The places where this material is stored can range from public libraries, subscription libraries, private libraries, and can also be in digital form, stored on computers or accessible over the internet. The term has acquired a secondary meaning: "a collection of useful material for common use". This sense is used in fields such as computer science, mathematics, statistics, electronicsand biology.

A library is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, a corporation, or a private individual. Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for use by people who choose not to — or cannot afford to — purchase an extensive collection themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or who require professional assistance with their research. In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are experts at finding and organizing information and at interpreting information needs. Libraries often provide a place of silence for studying, and they also often offer common areas to accommodate for group study and collaboration. Libraries often provide public facilities to access to their electronic resources and the Internet. Modern libraries are increasingly being redefined as places to get unrestricted access to information in many formats and from many sources. They are extending services beyond the physical walls of a building, by providing material accessible by electronic means, and by providing the assistance of librarians in navigating and analyzing tremendous amounts of information with a variety of digital tools.

Types of Libraries

Academic libraries — These libraries are located on the campuses of colleges and universities and serve primarily the students and faculty of that and other academic institutions. Some academic libraries, especially those at public institutions, are accessible to members of the general public in whole or in part.
Public libraries or public lending libraries — These libraries provide service to the general public and make at least some of their books available for borrowing, so that readers may use them at home over a period of days or weeks. Typically, libraries issue library cards to community members wishing to borrow books. Many public libraries also serve as community organizations that provide free services and events to the public, such as reading groups and toddler story time.
Research libraries — These libraries are intended for supporting scholarly research, and therefore maintain permanent collections and attempt to provide access to all necessary material. Research libraries are most often academic libraries or national libraries, but many large special libraries have research libraries within their special field and a very few of the largest public libraries also serve as research libraries.
School libraries — Most public and private primary and secondary schools have libraries designed to support the school's curriculum.
Special libraries — All other libraries fall into this category. Many private businesses and public organizations, including hospitals, museums, research laboratories, law firms, and many government departments and agencies, maintain their own libraries for the use of their employees in doing specialized research related to their work. Special libraries may or may not be accessible to some identified part of the general public. Branches of a large academic or research libraries dealing with particular subjects are also usually called "special libraries": they are generally associated with one or more academic departments. Special libraries are distinguished from special collections, which are branches or parts of a library intended for rare books, manuscripts, and similar material.

Digital Library

A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats (as opposed to print, microform, or other media) and accessible by computers.The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks. A digital library is a type of information retrieval system.

Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs.^{[citation needed]} Typically, librarians work in a public or college library, an elementary or secondary school media center, a library within a business or company, or another information-provision agency such as a hospital or law firm. Librarians may be categorized as Public, School, Correctional, Special, Independent or Academic.

Librarian roles and responsibilities

Positions and duties

Specific duties vary depending on the size and type of library. Olivia Crosby described librarians as "Information experts in the information age".^[37] Most librarians spend their time working in one of the following areas of a library:

§ Public service librarians work with the public, frequently at the reference desk of lending libraries. Some specialize in serving adults or children. Children's librarians provide appropriate material for children at all age levels, include pre-readers, conduct specialized programs and work with the children (and often their parents) to help foster interest and competence in the young reader. (In larger libraries, some specialize in teen services, periodicals, or other special collections.)

§ Reference or research librarians help people doing research to find the information they need, through a structured conversation called a reference interview. The help may take the form of research on a specific question, providing direction on the use of databases and other electronic information resources; obtaining specialized materials from other sources; or providing access to and care of delicate or expensive materials. These services are sometimes provided by other library staff that have been given a certain amount of special training; some have criticized this trend.^[38]

§ Technical service librarians work "behind the scenes" ordering library materials and database subscriptions, computers and other equipment, and supervise the cataloging and physical processing of new materials.

§ Collections development librarians monitor the selection of books and electronic resources. Large libraries often use approval plans, which involve the librarian for a specific subject creating a profile that allows publishers to send relevant books to the library without any additional vetting. Librarians can then see those books when they arrive and decide if they will become part of the collection or not. All collections librarians also have a certain amount of funding to allow them to purchase books and materials that don't arrive via approval.

§ Archivists can be specialized librarians who deal with archival materials, such as manuscripts, documents and records, though this varies from country to country, and there are other routes to the archival profession.

§ Systems Librarians develop, troubleshoot and maintain library systems, including the library catalog and related systems.

§ Electronic Resources Librarians manage the databases that libraries license from third-party vendors.

§ School Librarians work in school libraries and perform duties as teachers, information technology specialists, and advocates for literacy.

§ A Young Adult or YA librarian serves patrons who are between 12 and 18 years old. Young adults are those patrons that look to library services to give them direction and guidance toward recreation, education, and emancipation. A young adult librarian could work in several different institutions; one might be a school library/media teacher, a member of a public library team, or a librarian in a penal institution. Licensing for library/media teacher includes a Bachelor or Master of Arts in Teaching and additional higher-level course work in library science. YA librarians who work in public libraries usually have a Master's degree in Library and/or Information Science (MLIS), relevant work experience, or a related credential.^[39]

§ "Media Specialists" teach students to find and analyze information, purchase books and other resources for the school library, supervise library assistants, and are responsible for all aspects of running the library/media center. Both LMTs Library Media Teachers and YA public librarians order books and other materials that will interest their young adult patrons. They also must help YAs find relevant and authoritative Internet resources. Helping this age group to become life-long learners and readers is a main objective of professionals in this library specialty.

§ Outreach Librarians are charged with providing library and information services for underrepresented groups, such as people with disabilities, low income neighborhoods, home bound adults and seniors, incarcerated and ex-offenders, and homeless and rural communities. In academic libraries, outreach librarians might focus on high school students, transfer students, first-generation college students, and minorities.

§ Instruction Librarians teach information literacy skills in face-to-face classes and/or through the creation of online learning objects. They instruct library users on how to find, evaluate and use information effectively. They are most common in academic libraries.

Administrative responsibilities

librarians takes administrative positions such as library or information center director. Similar to the management of any other organization, they are concerned with the long-term planning of the library, and its relationship with its parent organization (the city or county for a public library, the college/university for an academic library, or the organization served by a special library). In smaller or specialized libraries, librarians typically perform a wide range of the different duties.

Representative examples of librarian responsibilities:

§ Researching topics of interest for their constituencies.

§ Referring patrons to other community organizations and government offices.

§ Suggesting appropriate books ("readers' advisory") for children of different reading levels, and recommending novels for recreational reading.

§ Facilitating and promoting reading clubs.

§ Developing programs for library users of all ages and backgrounds.

§ Managing access to electronic information resources.

§ Building collections to respond to changing community needs or demands

§ Creating pathfinders

§ Writing grants to gain funding for expanded program or collections

§ Digitizing collections for online access

§ Answering incoming reference questions via telephone, postal mail, email, fax, and chat

§ Making and enforcing computer appointments on the public access Internet computers.

Contribution of India to Library Profession

Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (Padmashri) (9 August 1892 – 27 September 1972) was a mathematician and librarian from India. His most notable contributions to the field were his five laws of library science and the development of the first major analytico-synthetic classification system, the colon classification. He is considered to be the father of library science, documentation, and information science in India and is widely known throughout the rest of the world for his fundamental thinking in the field. His birthday is observed every year as the National Library Day in India.

He was a university librarian and professor of library science at Benares Hindu University (1945–47) and professor of library science at the University of Delhi (1947–55). The last appointment made him director of the first Indian school of librarianship to offer higher degrees. He was president of the Indian Library Association from 1944 to 1953. In 1957 he was elected an honorary member of the Fédération Internationale de Documentation (FID) and was made a vice president for life of the Library Association of Great Britain.

Dr. S.R. Ranganathan Biographies on Web

Most widely held works by S. R Ranganathan

Colon classification
The five laws of library science
Prolegomena to library classification
Ramanujan, the man and the mathematician
On the life and achievements of Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar, 1887-1920, Indian mathematician.
Library book selection
Reference service
Classified catalogue code, with additional rules for dictionary catalogue code
Library manual, for library authorities, librarians, and honorary library workers
Library administration
Free book service for all; an international survey
A Librarian looks back : an autobiography of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan by S R Ranganathan and P N Kaula

Articles on Dr. Ranganathan.

Books on Dr. S.R. Ranganathan:

Digitised E-Books of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan by DLIST, The University of Arizona Campus Repository (University Libraries)

Photos/Images of Dr. Ranganathan:

School Library