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Annals of Library Science and Documentation 41, 4; 1994; 142-151. S R RANGANATHAN : A REVIEW OF CENTENARY CELEBRATION EVENTS AND LITERATURE SEWASINGH Reader Dept. of Library and Information Science Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar - 143005 During the birth centenary celebration of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, a number of conferences, seminars and otber professional activities were organised, both in India and abroad. Quite a good number of literature including publications, periodical articles, special issues of periodicals etc. were brought out to mark the event. The paper reviews such events and literature released on this occasion. INTRODUCTION Dr. S. R. Ranganathan was a great savant of li- brary and information science. During his life span as librarian of the University of Madras (1924-1944) and Banaras Hindu University (1945-1947) and then, as teacher of library science at the Univer- sity of Delhi (1947-1955), Vikram University, Ujjain (1957), and Documentation Research and Train- ing Centre, Bangalore (1962-1972), he has been a prolific writer which is amply clear from what he published in the field of librarianship and else- where. Gopinath estimated that Ranganathan has authored or edited a total of 63 books and 1500 articles [1]. However, in a book on Ranganathan's autobiography, it is mentioned that Ranganathan "authored or edited more than 50 works, about 2000 articles, scores of reports and several hundred technical notes and information work" [2]. Both have enumerated Ranganathan's works, but their lists seem to be incomplete and incomprehensive. The huge volume of publications of Ranganathan gives enough material for thought to scholars, li- brarians, teachers and others who like to conduct research on him and also his contributions to librarianship. The innumerable events and professional activi- ties started since 1991, Birth Centenary failing in August 1992, and continued to be celebrated through 1993 to nearly 1994. Not many would have 142 imagined that the event of the great luminary of library and information science would be celebrated on such a large scale around the world. With the publication of Ranganathan's autobiography [2], there started a spate of activities to celebrate his Birth Centenary. This was the most opportune time for researchers, librarians, educators, etc. to choose Ranganathan and Ranganathianism as a subject of study and research. SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, ETC. Events in India (1991) At least two important seminars/conferences were organised in india during 1991 to pay tributes to Prof. Ranganathan during the Centenary Year. 1. The Third International Conference on informe- trics co-sponsored by Documentation Re- search and Training Centre (DRTC), Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre (INSDOC), National Information System for Science and Technology (NISSAT), and Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science was organised during 9-12 August, 1991 at Bangalore with the theme of 'Theory of Informetrics'. Delegates from a number of countries including Australia, Belgium, Cana- da, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, In- dia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, and USA parti- cipated in the Conference and discussed many papers which centered around classical bibliometrics laws, growth and obsolescence of literature, publication pattern and citation analysis. 2. During December 22-24, 1991, a National Seminar was organised at the Sri Krishna Devaraya University, Anantapur on "Ranga- nathan's Works and Their Impact on the Growth of Library and Information Science Ann Lib Sci Doc

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Annals of Library Science and Documentation 41, 4; 1994; 142-151.

S R RANGANATHAN : A REVIEW OF CENTENARY CELEBRATIONEVENTS AND LITERATURE

SEWASINGHReaderDept. of Library and Information ScienceGuru Nanak Dev UniversityAmritsar - 143005

During the birth centenary celebration of Dr. S.R.Ranganathan, a number of conferences, seminarsand otber professional activities were organised,both in India and abroad. Quite a good number ofliterature including publications, periodical articles,special issues of periodicals etc. were brought outto mark the event. The paper reviews such eventsand literature released on this occasion.

INTRODUCTION

Dr. S. R. Ranganathan was a great savant of li-brary and information science. During his life spanas librarian of the University of Madras (1924-1944)and Banaras Hindu University (1945-1947) andthen, as teacher of library science at the Univer-sity of Delhi (1947-1955), Vikram University, Ujjain(1957), and Documentation Research and Train-ing Centre, Bangalore (1962-1972), he has beena prolific writer which is amply clear from whathe published in the field of librarianship and else-where. Gopinath estimated that Ranganathanhas authored or edited a total of 63 books and1500 articles [1]. However, in a book onRanganathan's autobiography, it is mentioned thatRanganathan "authored or edited more than 50works, about 2000 articles, scores of reports andseveral hundred technical notes and informationwork" [2]. Both have enumerated Ranganathan'sworks, but their lists seem to be incomplete andincomprehensive.

The huge volume of publications of Ranganathangives enough material for thought to scholars, li-brarians, teachers and others who like to conductresearch on him and also his contributions tolibrarianship.

The innumerable events and professional activi-ties started since 1991, Birth Centenary failingin August 1992, and continued to be celebratedthrough 1993 to nearly 1994. Not many would have

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imagined that the event of the great luminary oflibrary and information science would be celebratedon such a large scale around the world. With thepublication of Ranganathan's autobiography [2],there started a spate of activities to celebrate hisBirth Centenary. This was the most opportune timefor researchers, librarians, educators, etc. tochoose Ranganathan and Ranganathianism as asubject of study and research.

SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, ETC.

Events in India (1991)

At least two important seminars/conferences wereorganised in india during 1991 to pay tributes toProf. Ranganathan during the Centenary Year.

1. The Third International Conference on informe-trics co-sponsored by Documentation Re-search and Training Centre (DRTC), IndianNational Scientific Documentation Centre(INSDOC), National Information System forScience and Technology (NISSAT), andSarada Ranganathan Endowment for LibraryScience was organised during 9-12 August,1991 at Bangalore with the theme of 'Theoryof Informetrics'. Delegates from a number ofcountries including Australia, Belgium, Cana-da, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, In-dia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, and USAparti- cipated in the Conference and discussedmany papers which centered around classicalbibliometrics laws, growth and obsolescenceof literature, publication pattern and citationanalysis.

2. During December 22-24, 1991, a NationalSeminar was organised at the Sri KrishnaDevaraya University, Anantapur on "Ranga-nathan's Works and Their Impact on theGrowth of Library and Information Science

Ann Lib Sci Doc

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5 R RANGANATHAN : A REVIEW OF CENTENARY CELEBRATION

Education and Library Movement in India."

Events In India (1992)

1. The most important professional event of1992 was the organisation of the 58th IFLAGeneral Conference at New Delhi during 30August - 5 September 1992, in which 1,294delegates from 80 countries including Indiaparticipated. It was a life time experience forthe Indian library and information scienceprofessionals to have participated in this greatevent associated with the great son of Indiawho put his mother country on the world mapof library and information science by dint ofhis hard labour and seminal contributions.

2. The Second International ISKO Conferenceon 'Cognitive Paradigms in Knowledge Orga-nization' was jointly organised by the MadrasLibrary Association, Sarada RanganathanEndowment for Library Science and MadrasUniversity at Madras during 26 August to 28August 1992, to mark the Birth Centenaryof S.R. Ranganathan.

3. During 1992, a large number of seminars wereorqanised all over the country by various li-brary associations such as, UP Library Asso-ciation, West Bengal College Librarians' As-sociation, Kerala Library Association, BengalLibrary Association, Madras Library Asso-ciation, Punjab Library Association and so on,and by the university libraries and libraryand information science departments at theuniversities such as, the universities of Calicut,Osmania, Calcutta, Delhi, and so on.

4. Besides seminars, lectures, talks, workshops,etc., book exhibitions were also arranged inIndia by various agencies, libraries, associa-tions, colleges, etc.

Events Abroad (1992)

Apart from a large number of professional eventsarranged in India, many events were also organisedin other countries by his admirers. These includeamong others:

1. On 29 May, 1992, a "Ranganathan JubileeMeeting" was held at the Russian State li-brary, Moscow, in which about 130 specialistsparticipated;

Vol 41 No 4 December 1994

2. Classification Research Group (CRG), Lon-don organised a symposium on 15 October,1992 at the Science Museum Library, SouthKensington. The speakers included expertslike Jack Mills, Derek Langridge and NancyWilliamson; and

3. One of the important events of 1992 was thatthe American Library Association adopted twoMemorial Resolutions expressing appreciationtor the contribution of Dr. S R Ranganathanon the 1Oath Anniversary of his Birth.

The inventory is thus very long, and one can goon listing all those events held around the globe.But the aim of this paper is not to catalogue thoseevents but to review the published literature dur-ing the expended period of the Ranganathan BirthCentenary Celebrations.

The Birth Centenary generated a good amount ofliterature on Ranganathan in the form of books,articles, monographs, and special numbers of vari-ous periodicals in India and abroad. In this paperan attempt is made to identify, and review theCentenary literature published on Ranganathanduring 1991 to early 1994. Already, P N Kaula haspublished a review article "Works by and on Ranga-nathan published during the Centenary Year" [3].This paper not only includes information about thebooks published on Ranganathan (as Kaula hasdone), but also the articles included in the editedbooks, as well as articles published in variousspecial issues of periodicals during the occasion.

PUBLICATIONS

From the literature search, it was found that about25 books, authored/edited, were published on andabout Ranganathan with special reference to BirthCentenary Celebrations. At least three of themhave been published under the newly started"Ranganathan Centenary Series". In addition tothe books, five special souvenirs on Ranganathanhave also been brought out by various organi-sations. Besides, 25 professional and non-profes-sional journals--both foreign and Indian - havepublished Special Numbers on Prof. Ranganathan.Some newspapers, such as The Hindu, also pub-lished features on the occasion of the Cente-nary Celebration. All these documentary sourcesare reviewed and presented here.

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SEWA SINGH

Books

Autobiography

1. Kaula, P.N. : A Librarian Looks Back: An Au-tobiographyof Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, Ap-pended with an Evaluation of his Ufe and Work.(Kaula Series in Library Science - II), NewDelhi: ABC Publishing House, 1992. xiv, 485p., 34 photographs.

This is the only autobiography of Dr. S.R. Ranga-nathan published posthumously in a book form,though it was serialised as "A Librarian LooksBack" in the Herald of Library Science, from 1962to 1971. The book is divided into two parts: PartA gives his professional career and his days ofstruggle, learning, work, experiments, etc. at.theUniversity of Madras, holding the post of its firstfull time Librarian. In the Part B, Ranganathandescribes his activities with different professionalassociations and conferences, more particularlywith the Madras Library Association, and IndianLibrary Association. The last part of the book,prepared by P. N. Kaula, evaluates Ranganathan'scontributions, his assessment, chronology, honorsand awards, list of publications on Ranganathan.This autobiography, however, can not be consid-ered complete and comprehensive for variousreasons. It does not deal with author's life beforejoining at the University of Madras; it does notdescribe his works and contributions during histenure at Banaras Hindu University, University ofDelhi, in Zurich; and atthe DRTC Bangalore; andalso, does not indicate his activities form theperiod of his coming back from Zurich to joiningthe DRTC; and so on.

Biography

1. Girja Kumar: Ranganathan, Dewey and C VRaman: A StUdy in the Arrogance of Intellec-tual Power. New Delhi: Har-Anand Publica-tions, 1991. 147p.It is a work by an old student of Ranganathanwho retired as Librarian of the JawaharlalNehru University. He has compared, in thissmall book, the lives of three great men notchronologically, but finds out similarities anddissimilarities in them with regard to the arro-gance of intellectual power in Ranganathan,the famous Indian librarlan.. Melvil Dewey,the famous American librarian and pioneerin modern library classification systems; and

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Sir C.V. Raman, another great Indian scien-tist and Noble Laureate in Physics. In thisbook the author has applied marxian approachto know these three famous personalities,and thus brings forth both merits and demeritsof the three biographee.

2. Girja Kumar: S R Ranganathan: An Intellec-tual Biography. New Delhi: Har-Anand Publi-cations, 1992. 327 p.While discussing and evaluating Rangana-than's work and personality as "The Intellect",this book deals critically with Ranganathanas "The Man", giving account of his life, ac-tivities and achievements. The author pre-sents in this book a psycho-analytico studyof Ranganathan and the social environmentin which he worked at various places, andemerged as a Man through a long process ofintellectual growth. This work deals with thevalue system Ranganathan adopted,the make-up of his mind, the working of his intellect, theholistic approach he followed, and his creativ-ity in writing library literature.

Contributions

1. Mohanrajan, P. A.: Library Science: Dr. S.R.Ranganathan's Contnbution, 1924-1944: AnAnalysis. Madras: Mohanville Publications,1992. 112p.In this small volume, the author, retired as thefifth Librarian of the University of Madras(where Ranganathan was the first Librarian),brings together Ranganathan's earlier contri-bution as the first Librarian of this Univer-sity, his experiments in organisation, admin-istration, reference service, library classifi-cation, library cataloguing, and teaching of li-brary science as a subject of study. This bookprovides an insight into the working method-ology of Ranganathan since appointment asthe Librarian of the University of Madras in1924 till 1945, when he left Madras Univer-sity library. It also includes a select list ofpublications - books and articles - for the pe-riod he remained at Madras.

2. Satija, M.P.: S.R. Ranganathan and Methodof Science. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan,1992. 181p.This book discusses about the life and worksof S.R. Ranganathan with emphasis on hismethodology of writing books with effective

Ann Lib Sci Doc

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S R RANGANATHAN : A REVIEW OF CENTENARY CELEBRATION

communication. It is argued that Ranganathanhad an inspired method, and was championof application of scientific method to libraryand information science, but at the sametime his thinking process was moulded inthe Vedic principle of "Ekavakyata", hence itcan not be totally accepted as scientific.

Life and Works

1. Dynamics of Librarianship; Felicitation ofLuminaries in the Profession: Birth CentenaryPublication of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan.Annamalainagar: Dept. of Library and Infor-mation Science, Annamalai University; 1992.337+ 14p.This volume contains 32 articles contributedby senior colleagues in the profession fromall over the country. In Section A, the firstarticle itself is on the memory of Dr. S.R.Ranganathan. However, the Section B con-tains seven articles on works and contribu-tions of Ranganathan on various aspects oflibrary and information science such as, docu-mentation, reference service, five laws, clas-sification, research methodology, etc.

2. Kumar, P.S.G.: Ranganathan: A Multi-facetedPersonality. New Delhi: B R Publishing Cor-poration, 1992. 240 p.This book deals with various aspects ofRanganathan as a man, a librarian, a scien-tist, a teacher and an author with particularreference to his contributions to the develop-ment of library profession at national and in-ternational level. It presents an assessmentof his writing and contributions, unfolding someknown and unknown aspects of the multi-fac-eted personality. The author, who has beenin correspondence with the "Father of LibraryMovement in India", evaluates his philosophy,personality, and more particularly, the rel-evance of Ranganathan in modern time.

3. Navalani, K and Satija, M.P. Eds: Petis Pet-als: A Tribute to S R Ranganathan. New Delhi:ABC Publishing House, 1993. 146p.The volume covers 16 papers contributed bywriters from India and abroad on various as-pects of Ranganathan's life and works. Thecontributors present a fresh approach on al-most all the topics covered which includedRanganathan's indomitable personality, per-sonal reminiscences on him, his influence on

Vol 41 No 4 December 1994

classification and library practices in differ-ent countries, his effort to institutionalize re-search In library and information science, andhis crusade for the development of the pro-fession and libraries at large.

4. Raha, Somnath: Dr. SR Ranganathan: A Pro-file. Calcutta: West Bengal College Librarians'Association, 1992. 12p.The West Bengal College Librarians' Associa-tion brought out, as a part of Ranganathan'sBirth Centenary Celebrations, a bilingualmonograph (in Bengali and English). It is aprofile of Ranganathan pointing out the mis-sion of his life to create and develop librarymovement in the country. The Association hasalso brought out a special commemorativenumber of its official organ-COllege Libraries.

5. Ranganathan, S.R.: Indian Library Manifesto.New Delhi: ABC Publishing House, 1991.118p.It is a blueprint for profession for implementa-tion so that the directionless quagmire of thepresent day profession could be cleared. Theideas of the preindependence generation ofprofessionals throw a floodlight, provide thenecessary guidelines on Central as well asState Acts; national subject library systems;and the National Grid of libraries, as the lateRanganathan desired it to be.

6. National Library, Calcutta: S.R. Ranganathan:A Tribute. Calcutta: National Library, 1993.57p.The National Library of India, Calcutta pub-lished this monograph as a tribute to Prof. S.R. Ranganathan in his Birth Centenary Year.It includes 11 papers on the great Master's lifeand works. The National Library has acknowl-edged its debt to Ranganathan by bringing outthis valuable monograph in which all the con-tributors are from the staff of this library.

7. Sharma, R.N. Ed: S R Ranganathan and theWest. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1992.177p.It is a book on S R Ranganathan's life andworks prepared by an Indian librarian settledin America. It includes 15 papers written byeminent scholars and library scientists fromCanada, England, and the United States in-cluding many who knew Ranganathan closely.The authors have written, with a fresh look, on

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SEWA SINGH

various important topics linking Ranganathanand the West. At the end is given a chronol-ogy of events from 1892 to 1972 only. It wouldhave been much better if this chronology wasupdated to 1992. This book also includesDraft-Tribute Resolutions adopted by theAmerican Library Association in honour ofDr. S.R. Ranganathan in his centenary. It hasa . Foreword' by Patricia Glass Schuman, thePres'ident of the American Library Association.

8. Trehen, G. L. and Girja Kumar: RanganathanBirth Centenary Monograph. Chandigarh:Chandigarh Library Study Circle, 1993. 44 p.This monograph from Chandigarh LibraryStudy Circle includes essays on the variousfacets of life and works of S.R. Ranganathan.These essays are penned by the authors likeP N Kaula, P A Mohanrajan, 0 B Krishna Rao,and others. But, most of the essays includingpoems, are by G L Trehan himself. It has a.Foreword' by K M Ujlambkar of Pune.

9. Gopinath,M.A.Ed.: Ranganathan, S.R.: Me-morabilia Ranganathan. Bangalore: SaradaRanganathan Endowment for Library Science,1994. XIIl. 83 p.This publication forms part of the RanganathanBirth Centenary Celebrations, and is pub-lished as Number 5 in .Ranganathan Cente-nary Series'. It attempts to make live thethoughts of Prof. S.R. Ranganathan, a thinker,analyser, consolidator of his thoughts andwho used to put them in a crisp and tellingmanner. It contains a short biographical ac-count of Dr. Ranganathan in the beginning,and also includes source documents used forcollecting quotations.

Bibliographies on Works of Ranganathan

1. Sewa Singh and Sukhbir Singh: Colon Classi-fication: a Select Bibliography. New Delhi: EssEss Publications, 199? 86 p.This select bibliography on S R Ranganathan'smost popular and unique system of libraryclassification, namely, Colon Classificationconsisting of about 700 entries collected froma variety of sources, mostly the primarysources is published in his Birth CentenaryYear, and is dedicated to the memory of theGreat Master. It includes only English lan-guage contributions from all over the world,culled from periodicals, books, monographs,

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including some secondary sources.

2. Satija, M. P. and Amrik Singh: Bibliography ofColon Classification, 1930-1993. New Delhi:M D Puolicetions, 1994. XI, 129 p.This chronological bibliography comprising of1371 entries including some dissertations ofMUSc students consists of 98 percent of theliterature in English language, while the re-maining from other languages, such as Hindi.

Reprints on Life and Works

1. Dudley, Edward. Ed: S R Ranganathan, 1892-1972.London: The Library Association, 1974;Reprinted with introduction. New Delhi: EssEss Publications, 1992. 39 p.Originally published in 1974, by the Library As-sociation (London) as a tribute to Dr. S.R.Ranganathan, the book- is now reprinted inIndia in his Birth Centenary year. It containssix papers (in brief) from his British colleaguesthat include Vickery, Wells, Palmer, Foskett,Coblans, and Langridge. The monographcontains a chronology on Ranganathan com-piled by Kate Wood. It is a small measure ofrecognition of Ranganathan's outstanding in-fluence on professional thinking in England.

2. Madras Library Association: The Library Move-ment: A Collection of Essays by DiverseHands. Madras: Madras Library Association,1929; Reprinted by Government Press, Ma-dras, 1992. 173 p.This publication, a tribute to the memory ofDr. S.R. Ranganathan includes various ar-ticles on library movement, published about65 years ago by the scholars and thinkers ofthe 1920s, and the most important part of itis that these essays have equal relevanceeven today. It was the first publication of theMadras Library Association of whose Ranga-nathan was the founder Secretary.

Other Relevant Publications

1. Neelameghan, A.: Information for Small En-terprises. Bangalore: Sarada Ranganathan En-dowment for Library Science, 1992. 165 p.The present work aimed at specialised train-ing and guidance for information personnelto cater to the needs of the small and pro-spective enterprises. This is not a bookdirectly on Ranganathan, but is the first pub-

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S R RANGANATHAN : A REVIEW OF CENTENARY CELEBRA TlON

lication of the newly started "RanganathanCentenary Series" for bringing out useful lit-erature on the subject so dear to him.

2. Neelameghan, A, Gopinath, M.A., Raghavan,K. S. and Sankaralingam, P., Eds: CognitiveParadigms in Knowledge Organisation; Sec-ond InternationallSKO Conference, Madras,26-28 August 1992. Bangalore: SaradaRanganathan Endowment for Library Science,1992. XVI, 466 p.This public:ition contains 38 papers presentedand disCli<>Sedduring the Second InternationalISKO Conference, held in Madras during 26-28 August 1992, to mark the Birth CentenaryCelebrations of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan. It wasjointly organised by MaEirasLibrary Associa-tion, Sarada Ranganathan Endowment forLibrary Science, and the University of Madras,all founded and served by Ranganathan. Allthe papers have been divided into eight sos-slons covering various areas of knowledge andknowledge organisation. This book has alsobeen published under the "Ranganathan Cen-tenary Series" and bears a 'Preface' by S.Parthasarathy, a close associate of Ranga-nathan.

3. Ravichandra Rao, I. K. Ed: Informetrics - 91:Selected Papers from the Third InternationalConference on Informetrics, 9-12 August,1991. Bangalore: Sarada Ranganathan En-dowment for Library Science, 1992.This book includes only 23 selected papersout of the many more presented at the ThirdInternational Conference on Informetrics,whichmarked the beginning of the Ranganathan BirthCentenary Celebrations. The focal theme ofthe Conference was 'Theory of Informetrics'.The book includes in the beginning a paperby Gopinath on S.R. Ranganathan and his con-tribution to 'Llbrarnetry', a term which he firstcoined and publicly announced at a lecture inLemington Spa, England in 1948. It also con-tains a photograph of Prof. S R Ranganathanin the beginning.

4. Ravi, N. Ed: The Hindu speaks on Libraries.Madras: Kasturi & Sons Ltd, 1992. 303 p, 20photographs.This is also not a book on S.R. Ranganathan,but compiles a selection of news, views, edi-torials, etc. published in the famous Madras-based newspaper. The Hindu, on librariescovering the period from 1918 to 1992. The

Vol 41 No 4 December 1994

compilation is made for the benefit of thereaders of the Hindu, especially librarians andinformation scientists and provides a gen-eral view of the development of libraries andlibrary science over the past 75 years. Thearrangement of the items is chronological asthey were published in the newspaper. Mostof the articles relate to the public library move-ment in the country. However, it includes manyarticles contributed by S.R. Ranganathan ona variety of subjects.

5. Vashishth, C.P. Ed: Library and Informat.'onTechnology; In Pursuit of Excellence: Semi-nar Papers of 38th All India Library Confer-ence of ILA Delhi: Indian Library Associa-tion, 1992. 318 p.The Indian Library Association, of whose S.R.Ranganathan remained President for quite along time in the 1940s and early 1950s, pub-lished this volume of papers with salutationsto the Father of Library Science in India onhis 101st Birthday. It includes 43 articles divi-ded into six sections, presented in the confer-ence which was held at the Utkal University,Bhubaneswar, auring November 21-24, 1992.This volume aoes not include any paperon Ranganathan or his contributions. It how-ever, includes his photograph in the volumeas an indicator of its being dedicated to himas a mark of respect and tribute.

6. Kaula, P. N., Krishan Kumar, et aI, Eds: Inter-national and Comparative Librarianship andInformation System: Ranganathan MemorialVolumes. 2 Volumes.This is being brought out as the CentenaryVolume containing a selection of 88 papersfrom 21 countries including India in com-memoration of the work and contributions ofDr. S.R. Ranganathan on his 101st Birth Anni-versary. It is to be released by the Interna-tional Ranganathan Centenary Volume Com-mittee in collaboration with Prof. Kaula Endow-ment for Library and Information Science.

7. Neelameghan, A: Use of S.R. Ranganathan'sNormative Principles and Postulates in D~sign-ing Non-bibliographic Specialized Database:An Introduction. Bangalore: Sarada Ranga-nathan Endowment for Library Science.This is being published as part of the Ranga-nathan Centenary Celebrations, under the"Ranganathan Centenary Series". It makesuse, as the title suggests, of the Normat:"e

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SEWA SINGH

Principles and Postulates developed by S.R.Ranganathan for the General Theory of Clas-sification, and applies them for the designingand creation of non-bibliographic specializeddatabases.

Souvenirs

Besides the books on and about Ranga-nathan's life, works and contributions, few as-sociations and institutions have also broughtout Souvenirs as a part of Birth CentenaryCelebrations.

1. All India Library Conference, Indian LibraryAssociation, 38th, Bhubaneswar, 21-24 No-vember 1992, Souvenir, Department of Library& Information Science, Utkal University, 1992.39 plus many unnumbered pages.

2. Chandigarh Libraries' Association, Souvenir,Chandigarh: The Author, 1992. Unnumberedpages.

3. IASL/C, National Conference, 15th, Annama-lainagar, 26-29 December, 1992, Souvenir,Annamalainagar: Annamalai University Li-brary and Department of Library and Informa-tion Science, 1992. Unnumbered pages.

4. Institute of Library Science, Hyderabad, Sou-venir, edited by Sudarshan Rao, Hyderabad:Institute of Library Science, 1991. Many un-numbered pages.

5. Punjab Library Association, Patiala, Souvenir,Ranganathan Centenary Celebrations, April29-30, 1994. Patiala: Punjab Library Associa-tion, 1994. 37 plus many unnumbered pages.

SPECIAL NUMBERS OF JOURNALS

Apart from publication of more than two dozens ofbooks, some souvenirs, Special Numbers of morethan two dozens of professional and non-pro-fessional periodicals to mark the Birth Centenarycelebrations of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan were alsobrought out. Although most of the journals areprofessional journals devoted to library and infor-mation science, yet a couple of them are generalin nature and scope. These also include someforeign journals.

Professional Journals

Foreign Journals

1. Libri; International Library Review, Vol. 42, No.3, July-Sept. 1992.

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The Special Number was a mark of tribute toDr. S.R. Ranganathan under the editorship ofProf. A. Neelameghan, a close associate ofthe great master. Besides the editor's intro-duction, there are eight papers written byexperts from different countries including In-dia. The contributors to this special numberinclude Elaine Svenonius (USA): Ranganathanand Classification Science; Peter Ingwersenand Irene Worm ell (Denmark): Ranganathanin the Perspective of Advanced InformationRetrieval; A Neelameghan (India): Applicationof Ranganathan's General Theory of knowl-edge Classification in Designing SpecializedDatabases; 0 J Foskett (UK): Ranganathanand User Friendliness; Pauline A Cochrane(USA): Information Technology in Libraries andRanganathan's Five Laws of Library Science;I K Ravichandra Rao and A Neelameghan (In-dia): From Librametry to Informetrics: An Over-view of Ranganathan's Contributions; R NSharma (USA): Ranganathan's Impact on In-ternational Librarianship through InformationTechnology; and F W Lancaster etc. (USA):Ranganathan's Influence Examined Bibliomet-rically'. Thus, it is an excellent tribute to thegreat librarian and educator in his Birth Cen-tenary Year.

2. International Classification, Vol. 19, No.1,1992.The Special Number, devoted to the memoryof Dr. S.R. Ranganathan includes four papersfrom four countries on and about Ranganathan,besides an editorial in which Dr. I. Dahlbergpaid her rich tributes. The articles include AChronology of Ranganathan's Works in LibraryClassification (India); Ranganathan's Influ-ence on Russia and Their Scheme of Clas-sification (Russia); Influence of CC on Clas-sification in China (China); and Ranganathan'sPostulates in Classification (USA).

Besides these two, the following foreign jour-nals published Special Issues by writing anEditorial, or an article, as a mark of respect tothe memory of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan.

3. Information Documentation (Romania) Vol. 26,No.2,1992.

4. Information Management Report (U.K.), Au-gust, 1992.

5. Library Times International, Volume 9, Num-ber 1, July, 1992.

6. Bolletino A I B

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5 R RANGANATHAN : A REVIEW OF CENTENARY CELEBRA TlON

Indian Journals

1. Annals of Library Science and Documentation,Vol. 39, No.2, June 1992.This quarterly journal published its June 1992Issue as a Special Number on Dr. S.R. Ranga-nathan, who incidentally happened to be foun-der of this journal published by the INSDOC,New Delhi. This issue includes eight papersby experts such as, Prof. T Viswanathan whowrote on Ranganathan's Fifth Law in contextof modern technology; T N Rajan who dis-cussed the relevance of Ranganathan's ideasin the information age; A P Srivastava whoexamined the lasting impact of Ranganathan;Gurucharan Singh wrote on Ranganathan'scontribution towards standards for documen-tation; Girja Kumar who discussed crea~!vityin the thought of Ranganathan; M A Gopinathwho ana lysed Ranganathan's approach toknowledge organisation and its impact onmodern library and information services; VRajalakshmi and R Pal discussed jointly aboutRanganathan's contribution to the Annals ofLibrary Science and Documentation during1954-1963; and Mishra, Joshi and Mishrahave written on the relevance of Ranganathan's contribution in the age of informationtechnology.

2. CLIS Observer, Vol. 9, Nos. 1-2, January-June 1992.The Special Issue includes two articles aboutRanganathan's contributions. Girja Kumarwrites on the creativity in the thought of Dr S.R. Ranganathan and Sewa Singh explains theconcept of reference service and describes itsdevelopment in Ranganathan's work.

3. College Libraries, Vol. 8, Nos. 1-1/,1992.The Special Number has been brought out asDr. S.R. Ranganathan Commemoration Vol-ume, by the We3t Bengal College Librarians'Association, Calcutta. It comprises of sevenarticles to p~ tributes to the great Indian li-brarian. Subodh Kumar Mukherjee in his 'SriShiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan - a Remi-niscence' describes his memorable in relationto Ranganathan; P Barua gives a brief ap-praisal of Ranganathan's contribution to libraryscience; A K Gupta writes on Ranganathan andthe Library Science; Satyananda Mandaitraces the Origin of Seminal Mnemonics in

Vol 41 No 4 December 1994

Classification Systems; Kabita Mukherjee nar-rates Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Sci-ence and its practical implementation. Ami-tabha Chatterjee gives the inside story of mak-ing of Colon Classification; while ChittaranjanBera paid homage to Dr. S. R. Ranganathan,a great teacher and organiser of library sci-ence. However, all the authors of this SpecialIssue are from West Bengal only.

4. DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology,Vol. 12, No.5, September 1992.

This periodical of DESIDOC, New Delhi pub-lished its September 1992 issue as Dr. S. R.Ranganathan Birth Centenary Issue. It in-cludes five articles on Ranganathan, beginningwith one on his Birth Centenary (M P Satija);Ranganathan: an apostle of Iibrarianship (V KRangra); Ranganathan: an exemplary teacherand a guide (Harjit Singh); Ranganathan'stheory of facet analysis and knowledge rep-resentation (M A Gopinath); and the increas-ing relevance of the five laws of Ranganathan(P Jayarajan). Includes a photograph of orDr. S.R. Ranganathan on the title cover ofthis Bulletin.

5. Herald of Library Science, Vol. 32, Nos. 1-2,January-April 1993.The Special Issue of this quarterly journal hasbeen published as a Special RanganathanCentenary Number. It includes three photo-graphs of Ranganathan and covers 13 articleswritten by library and information profession-als from all over the country including two fromabroad. J B Friis-Hansen and Svend Engel(from Denmark) have described the impactof the contribution of Ranganathan in Denmark;while Nasser Sharify (USA) has explained hisencounter with Ranganathan way back in1964. P N Kaula has contributed three ar-ticles on impaCt of Ranganathan's concepts;Some episodes from Ranganathan's life; anda review article on the works published onRanganathan during his Birth Centenary Year.Other articles included are by M A Gopinathon the Profile of Ranganathan in relation tolibrametry; A AN Raju on the Propounder ofdynamic theory of subject classification; MP Satija on Ranganathan and team research;Raman Nair on Ranganathan and public librarysystem; and Sewa Singh on Comparativelibrarianship and Ranganathan's writings.

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SEWA SINGH

6. IASLIC Bulletin, Vol. 37, No.3, September1992.This Special Number of IASLIC Bulletin hasbeen brought out as "S R Ranganathan BirthCentenary Commemoration Issue". This is theonly Special Issue which includes at leastthree articles by Ranganathan himself, thoughalready published in the same journal in 1956-1957. Besides, it includes four more articlesas Centenary tributes to Ranganathan. Theseare by R Satyanarayana on Dr. Ranganathanand Library Profession'; P B Boy on ' Ranga-nathan: Paying Gurudakshina'; A K Ohdedaron .Study and Research on Ranganathan';and Nirrnalendu Mukherjee on Dr Ranga-nathan and the IASLIC'. In the remaining fourarticles Amitabha Chatterjee has discussedthe Concept of Phase Relation in CC and ItsImpact on BC; Sewa Singh describes the jour-ney from Reference to Information Services:A Study on Impact of Ranganathan; GayatriMahapatra analyses bibliometrically Ranga-nathan's contribution; while P N Venkatacharitraces Ranganathan's view on Romanisationof Indian scripts for the INB. One of the spe-cial features on this Issue is that it includes agood' number of letters by and to Ranganathan.The last section comprises reviews of somebooks and of a few special issues of periodi-cals on Ranganathan.

7. Indian Journal of Information, Library & Soci-ety, Vol. 5, Nos. 3-4, July-December 1992.This issue has been brought out as a SpecialNumber on Ranganathan Centenary andOrissa Library Movement. This includes threearticles by Indian authors on Life and Mindof Ranganathan, by M P Satija; Dr. S.R.Ranganathan : a Live Spectrum of Librarian-Ship, by M B Babkapur; and Ranganathan'sConcept of Pre-natal Cataloguing, jointly byN Laxman Rao and T V Prafulla Chandra.

8. Indian Book Industry, Vol. 45, No.2, 1992.The Special Issue on Dr. S R Ranganathan,published by Mis Sterling Publishers, NewDelhi, carried book reviews of such books aswere published on S R Ranganathan duringthe year 1992.

9. IJILIS Newsletter, Cuttack, 1992.The Special Issue Reports about the vari-ous celebrations organised in the country onthe occasion of Ranganathan Birth Centenary.

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10. Journal of Library and Information Science,Vol. 17, No.1, June 1992.The Special Issue to mark the Birth Centenarycelebrations of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan includesarticles written by his close friends, his stu-dents and associates.

11. Library History Review, Vol. 3, No.4, 1992.This number for 1992, carries only one articleon Dr. S.R. Ranganathan as a token of hisBirth Centenary year being celebrated all overthe world. This journal is published by a pri-vate publisher, K K Roy, from Calcutta.

12. Library Science with a Slant to Documenta-tion and Information Studies, Vol. 29, No.2,June 1992.The Special Number dedicated to its founderEditor, Dr. S.R. Ranganathan on his Birth Cen-tenary carries a Guest Editorial on Ranga-nathan by S Parthasarathy (of the Institute ofInformation Studies, Madras); a summary ofthe work and achievements of Ranganathan,by M A Gopinath. It includes seven morearticles by Indian and foreign authors: Amongthe foreign authors: E R Sukiasyan wroteon" Ranganathan and the Soviet Union'; W AWeerasooriya on Five Laws of Library Sci-ence ... and their far-reaching implications';o W Langridge on United Vision of LibraryScience'; and Bernard I Palmer on "Ranqa-nathan, the Man and His Works' and amongthe Indian authors, G Bhattacharyya wrote on.Ranganathan: An Outstanding Philosopher';M A Gopinath on A Scientific Approach toClassification and Cataloguing; and SSeetharama on Role of Classification in Infor-mation Services Generation. This journal'sSeptember and December 1992 issues alsocontained Guest Editorials on Ranganathan byM A Gopinath and Suseela Kumar. Number3 of Volume 29 includes one article byRanganathan; one by T Viswanathan on .li-brary as a Growing Organism'; and a BirthCentenary report.

13. Library Today, Vol. 14,No.9, September 1992.It contains two articles on the life and worksof Dr. S.R. Ranganathan in commemorationwith his Birth Centenary celebrations.

14. Lucknow Librarian, Vol. 24, Nos. 1-4, 1992.This quarterly journal published by the U P li-brary Association, Lucknow, published on

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S R RANGANA'THAN : A REVIEW OF CENTENARY CELEBRATION

all the four numbers of its Volume 24 (1992),a photograph of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan as amark of respect and tribute to him during theBirth Centenary celebrations.

15. NISSA T Newsletter, Vol. 11, Nos. 1-4, 1992.This quarterly Newsletter of the National In-formation System for Science and Technol-ogy, Department of Scientific and IndustrialResearch, New Delhi, published on its fournumbers a coloured photograph of Dr. S RRanganathan. Also it reported from time totime about the Birth Centenary celebrationsorganised in various institutions in the coun-try and elsewhere.

16. Indian Book ChronicleThis library related periodical has brought outa Special Issue on Ranganathan to com-memorate his Birth Centenary Year, by pub-lishing book reviews of books written on him.

17. Timeless Fellowship: Annual Journal of Libraryand Information Science, Vol. 15, 1993.The journal is published as an annual from theDepartment of Library and Information Sci-ence, Karnataka University, Dharwad. In itsvolume 15, 1993 it carries one article by SewaSingh on Ranganathan and his contribution to

.the development of Reference Service.

Non-Professional Journals

1. Bhavan'S Journal, Vol. 39, No. 20, May 31,1993.The Special Number paid its tribute to Dr. S.R.Ranganathan with a coloured photograph ofRanganathan on the title cover and includesthree articles on Ranganathan - A Sketch ofDr. S.R. Ranganathan; Tribute to Dr. S.R.Ranganathan: Wanted a Public Libraries Net-work by I.M. Patil and Dr. S.A. Ranganathan,Librarian Extraordinary, by V W Deshpande.

2. Frontline, Vol. 9, No. 17, August 15-28, 1992.The Special Number of the general magazinepublished by the publishers of The Hindu, in-cludes four articles under the Heading: "Li-brary Science". The first of these articles isby Girija Kumar on Ranganathan's Biographi-cal Account and his Contribution. The othersare on the Impact of Information Technology

Vol 41 No 4 December 1994

on Libraries, by S Parthasarathy; another onClassic Classifications, by Girija Kumar, andthe third on the Khuda Baksh Library situatedin Patna (Bihar).

3. University News, Vol. 30, No. 35, August 31,1992.The Special Issue contains over 30 articlescontributed not only by librarians from acrossthe country, but also by many others-teach-ers, educators, researchers, and administra-tors. This issue which pays a Centennialtribute to Padamshri S.R. Ranganathan isalso a Special Issue on .University Libraries',and includes articles by such eminent schol-ars as Malcolm Adisheshiah, Har SwarupSingh, Amrik Singh, P B Mangla, Girja Kumar,A P Srivastava, Krishan Kumar, S G Mahajan,and many more including the writer of theselines.

Newspapers

1. The Hindu, August 30, 1992, Madras.This Special Supplement on Libraries and Dr.S.R. Ranganathan included articles contrib-uted by Girja Kumar, Krishan Kumar, and oth-ers.

During the historic InternationallFLA Confer-ence held in New Delhi from 30 August to 5September 1992, many newspapers of Delhialso brought out features on libraries, Ranga-nathan, and IFLA Conference for the benefitof all interested.

REFERENCES1. GOPINATH (M A). "S.A. Ranganathan". In En-

cyclopedia of library and information science,Vol 25. 1978. Marcel Dekker; New York.

2. RANGANATHAN (S R). A librarian looks back:an autobiography of Dr. S.F.t Ranganathan,appended with an evaluation of his life andwork, by P N Kaula. '1992. ABC PublishingHouse; New Delhi.

3. KAULA (P N). Works by and on Ranganathanpublished during the centenary year: state ofthe art review; Herald of Library Science. 32,1-2; 1993, Jan-Apr; 94-100.

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