About the AuthorS. R. Ranganathan: an Intellectual Biography By Girja Kumar. New Delhi: Har‑Anand, 1992. 327 p. ISBN 8124‑1000‑55. 295 rials.
Through his Brahamanic background, combined with a scholarly ethos rooted in the Tamil traditions, S. R. Ranganathan (1892‑1992) had the necessary setting to become a great intellectual leader. In India it was mainly because of his original contributions and stewardship that the library profession achieved academic and social recognition. He is therefore rightly called the “Father of the Library Movement and Library Science.” And it is because of his seminal writings that India continues to occupy a place of prominence on the world library map.
Several biographical accounts of this great man have been published, notably his autobiography A Librarian Looks Back (ABC Publishing House, 1992). The new biography by Kumar, a student of Ranganathan in the University of Delhi during the late 1940s, is certainly a welcome addition. In spite of Kumar’s obvious admiration of his teacher, he is largely successful in making an objective assessment of Ranganathan as a thinker, teacher, professional colleague, and social being.
Over a 50‑year period Ranganathan published more than 60 books and 3,000 research papers on almost all facets of library science and service. That output includes such classics as Five Laws of Library Science (1931; 1957), Prolegomena to Library Classification (1937; 1957; 1967), and Library Administration (1935; 1958). His Colon Classification (1933; six later editions to 1989) and Classified Catalogue Code (1934; four later editions to 1964) were harbingers of a new era in the field of library classification and cataloguing, respectively, and provided an intellectual stimulus to generations of librarians around the world. Among his many honors, one of particular note was the appointment in 1965 to a national research professorship in library science.
Kumar’s book begins with a chapter on the social milieu in which Ranganathan grew up, and goes on to discuss personal traits and professional relationships. A certain arrogance and general intolerance toward both his senior and junior colleagues stands out clearly in this assessment. There follows an appraisal of specific contributions, ideas, concepts, and methods—this is an interpretation done with insight and objectivity.
On the negative side, it must be said that Kumar tends to portray Ranganathan as a highly tortured person, ever maligned and detracted. To some extent this was true (as it is perhaps, in the lives of all great men), but his personality traits greatly contributed to the creation of several unsavory situations. And he always had the compensation that came from the affection, admiration, and loyalty of a large band of students and colleagues from all over the world.
Undoubtedly Ranganathan was a teacher par excellence. He could provoke his students to think independently and develop self confidence. I can say, as one of those students, that I have since found—in 35 years—very few others who could possibly be compared with him, either in India or abroad. In 1961, when I went to study at Columbia University, I was told by Professor Maurice Tauber: “You were a student of Dr. Ranganathan, and therefore I don’t think we would be contributing anything very new to your knowledge of the subject. During your stay here you would however be able to see much of library service in action in this country.”
In his last chapter Kumar considers the relevance of Ranganathan’s ideas and contributions today. His writings provided librarians with a conceptual framework for research. He supported modernization and new technologies. Resource sharing and networking were of great interest to him; he used to dream about and talk about such programmes as we now have in India, INFLIBNET, DELNET, and CALIBNET. On the other hand, his Colon Classification and his Classified Catalogue Code are losing their relevance. One reason is the lack of a supporting organization to keep them up to date.
Kumar’s book is comprehensive and well documented. It is readable as well, although repetitive in places and overstocked with certain expressions, such as “dialectical.” The volume has a good format and is well printed. A reasonably priced paperback edition would make it more accessible to individual buyers.
P. B. Mangla holds the chair of library science at the University of Delhi. For biographical information see TWL 1‑1.
© 1993 Dominican University
Citation
Mangla, P. B., “Book Review: S. R. Ranganathan: an Intellectual Biography” Third World Libraries, Volume 3, Number 2 (Fall 1993).