Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan:
- Shiyali is his mother’s native town Shiyali presently known as Shirgazhi, Tamilnadu, India.
- Ramamrita is his father’s name N. Ramamrita Ayyar
- Ranganathan is his own name
The title “Father of Library Science in India” was conferred by Sir Maurice Gwyer.
Birth & Childhood of Dr. S R Ranganathan
Born: 9th August 1892 ( Official Date of Birth 12th August 1892). Although he personally recorded his birthdate as 9 August 1892 in his book, The Five Laws of Library Science, his date of birth is sometimes recorded as 12 August 1892. Ubhayavedantapuram, a tiny village in the Tanjore District of Madras Presidency (current-day Tamil Nadu) where he was born. India celebrates his birthday each year as National Librarian Day.
Death: 27th September 1972 Bangalore Karnataka India.
Family of S.R.Ranganathan
Father: N. Ramamrita Ayyar, Landlored (1866-98)
- Mother: Seethalakshmi (1872-1953)
- Married :
- 1st wife(1907) : Rukmini (1896-1928)
- 2nd wife (Julu1929) : Sarada (1908-85)
- Son: R. Yogeshwar (engineer, married to a European )
- Grandson & Daughter: has two grandsons and a granddaughter, and quite a few great-grandchildren all live in Europe.
He lost his father in 1898 when he was 6 years old and he moved to his mother’s native village. He completed his Matriculation in 1909. He was raised in an established South Indian Brahmin household and attended their religious schools.
Education & Carriear
Ranganathan enrolled in the Madras Christian College after graduating from Hindu High School and majored in mathematics. He earned his B.A. in 1913 and his M.A. in 1916. In 1917, Ranganathan graduated from the Teachers’ College in Madras with a licence to teach (LT).
Dr. Ranganathan began his career teaching mathematics as an assistant lecturer at the Government College in Mangalore from 1917 to 1921 before moving to Madras.
In 1921 he joined as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
. He wrote a few papers while teaching mathematics, most of which focused on the subject’s history. In addition, Ranganathan served as secretary of the Madras Teacher’s Guild’s Mathematics and Science section.
He was chosen to be the University of Madras’ first librarian in 1924, and to prepare for the position, he went to England to attend University College, London.
1925 until 1944 He began working at Madras in earnest in 1925 and continued there till 1944.
He taught at the University of Delhi from 1947 to 1954 in addition to holding the positions of librarian and professor of library science at Hindu University in Varanasi (Banaras) from 1945 to 1954.
From 1962 till the end of his life, he was in charge of the documentation Research and Training Centre in Bangalore. He was given the title of national research professor in library science by the Indian government in 1965.
Works of Dr. S.R.Ranganathan as a Librarian
| Sl. No. | Year | Works |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1931 | The Five Laws of Library Science |
| 2 | 1933 | Colon Classification |
| 3 | 1934 | Classified Catalogue Code |
| 4 | 1937 | Prolegomena to Library Science |
| 5 | 1938 | Theory of Library Catalogue |
| 6 | 1945 | Elements of Library Classification |
| 7 | 1948 | Classification and International Documentation |
| 8 | 1951 | Classification and Communication |
| 9 | 1955 | Headings and Canons |
Periodicals Edited by Ranganathan :
| Sl. No. | Year | Periodicals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1937-1947 | Editorial Board, Moder Librarian |
| 2 | 1939-1944 | Conducted Memories, Madras Library Association |
| 3 | 1947 | Editorial Board, Indian Librarian |
| 4 | 1949- 1953 | Editor, Abgila, Indian Library Association |
| 5 | 1959 | American Documentation |
The Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science:
1963 In honour of his second wife Sharda, Ranganathan also founded a non-profit organisation called Sharda Ranganathan Endorsement for Library Science, which now publishes a journal by the name of SRELS Journal of Information Management. This organisation also organises workshops, conferences, and training programmes.
Ranganathan was the recipient of many honours and awards :
- 1.1953- Rao Saheb (in 1935 from the Government of India under British rule)
- 3. 1951- Honorary fellow, Virginia Bibliographic Society)
- 4. 1956- honorary member, Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centres)
- 5. 1957- i.Padmashri (from the Government of India)
- ii. honorary fellow, International Federation for Documentation
- iii. honorary vice-president, Library Association (London)
- 6. 1964- honorary DLitt (University of Pittsburg)
- 7. 1967- honorary fellow, Indian Standards Institution
- 8. 1965- National research professor (Government of India)
- 9. 1970- Margaret Mann citation (American Library Association)
- 10. 1971- grand knight of peace, Mark Twain Society, U.S.A.
Ranganathan established scholarships and prizes for students:
- 1. 1934: Edward B. Ross Studentship, Madras Christian College
- 2. 1958: Sarada Ranganathan Prize for Mathematics, Government College, Mangalore
- 3 . 1958: Sarada Ranganathan Merit Prize, Sanskrit College, Sriperumbudur (near Chennai)
- 4. 1959 Sarada Ranganathan Merit Prize, High School, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Reference:
- Wikipedia
- britannica.com
- isko.org
- lisquiz.com
Quiz On Dr. S.R.Ranganathan
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