Shri Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan who is regarded as the father of library science and modern library development in India was born on 9th August, 1892. He started his career as a teacher in mathematics and later became Assistant Professor in Presidency College, Madras. He was selected as the first librarian of the University of Madras.
In building up the Madras University library, Ranganathan developed many new techniques and tools which brought him international recognition. His five laws of library science provide a sound foundation for integrated library and information systems. His colon classification designed as an analytico- synthetic scheme using fundamental categories, canons and postulates, and his classified catalogue code with its subject indexing techniques are major contributions in the field.
Dr. S.R. Ranganathan was a prolific author and has written more than 60 books and 1500 articles covering various facets of library and information science developing a distinctive Indian school of thought. He was a founder member of the Madras Library Association. Being a firm believer that books and knowledge would help overcome the widespread backwardness and ignorance, he spearheaded the public library movement in the country. As a result of his persistent efforts, Public Library Acts were passed in the Madras Presidency (1948), Andhra Pradesh (1960), Karnataka (1965) and Maharashtra (1967) and followed by many other states.
He was closely associated with the setting up & development of two national institutions, Delhi Public Library (1950) and INSDOC (1952)-as UNESCO projects. He also established the documentation research and training centre (DRTC) in 1962 at Bangalore.
Dr. S.R. Ranganathan was a recipient of various awards including Padma Shri in 1957. He was also nominated as national research professor of library science in 1965 by the Government of India. He died on 27th September, 1972 in his 80th year, his dedicated service a treasured legacy for posterity.
Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India