S.R. Ranganathan's book The Five Laws of Library Science (1931; 1963 reprint edition) is a surprisingly interesting, if charmingly eccentric, book.
The beauty of Ranganathan's Five Laws is that they are simple enough to memorize, yet have lots of implications for library service. Ranganathan's logical mind develops these implications throughout the text.
Please note that when Ranganathan says "books," he really means any library material. And where he says "laws," I would say "tendencies". The five laws of library science were not passed by any legislature, so they're are not laws in any legal sense. Ranganathan used the word "law" to mean, in his words, "self-evident truth". To Ranganathan, library science is a science and its basic truths are as fundamental and unchanging as the laws of physics. Ranganathan admits, however, that unlike the laws of physics, which cannot easily be broken, the laws of library science are often ignored and/or violated.
To understand what Ranganathan really meant by "laws", it is important to remember that Ranganathan regarded books, libraries, and even the laws themselves as quasi-living things. In Ranganathan's mind, books "want" to be united with their readers. Libraries "want" to bring books and readers together. The "laws" of library science may be ignored or not enforced, but they "want" to exert their power. The laws will ultimately be victorious. ( )
The beauty of Ranganathan's Five Laws is that they are simple enough to memorize, yet have lots of implications for library service. Ranganathan's logical mind develops these implications throughout the text.
Please note that when Ranganathan says "books," he really means any library material. And where he says "laws," I would say "tendencies". The five laws of library science were not passed by any legislature, so they're are not laws in any legal sense. Ranganathan used the word "law" to mean, in his words, "self-evident truth". To Ranganathan, library science is a science and its basic truths are as fundamental and unchanging as the laws of physics. Ranganathan admits, however, that unlike the laws of physics, which cannot easily be broken, the laws of library science are often ignored and/or violated.
To understand what Ranganathan really meant by "laws", it is important to remember that Ranganathan regarded books, libraries, and even the laws themselves as quasi-living things. In Ranganathan's mind, books "want" to be united with their readers. Libraries "want" to bring books and readers together. The "laws" of library science may be ignored or not enforced, but they "want" to exert their power. The laws will ultimately be victorious. (