I have a favorite theory. Do you?

In 1931, Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan published The Five Laws of Library Science. The five laws are:

1. Books are for use.
2. Every person his or her book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.

Throughout 500+ pages, Ranganathan describes each law (the postulates of the theory), the real-life scenarios in which he applied the law and saw the law exemplified, and even creates hypothetical conversations between a law and the previously defined principles which it proves insufficient. For example, in describing the first law, “Books Are For Use,” Ranganathan provided a historical overview of how library leadership prevented books from being used. This includes books being chained to shelves in the 15th and 16th centuries, books being on shelves so high that only the most able-bodied individuals who could safely navigate the tall ladders could use them, and those who held books to be so precious that they were unworthy of anyone else’s attention.

While those instances may seem extreme and come from the distant past, the laws were intended to prevent them from recurring. The theory of The Five Laws was written to inform library leaders of the desired outcome for their customer base, warn them against the risk of the wrong decision, and provide practical ways to meet the expectations of library users. We can see how the laws were put into practice in modern libraries: where users used to be required to know what they needed and have library staff retrieve the books from behind closed doors, now folks can simply enter a library and get almost everything they need without any 3rd party intervention. Decisions like that prove that putting the theory into practice is good.

However, today’s library leadership has abandoned much of this theory. Think about your undergraduate experience. When (if?) you entered the library, you immediately saw lots of books. When/if you needed one, all you had to do was find it. And, chances are, when you found one you needed, you stumbled across more that you didn’t yet know you needed. If you were to visit that library again, you would see a noticeable difference in the space. Where there once were shelves full of books, now there are tables and chairs. The books have been moved off campus to a storage facility. When you know exactly what you need, you can have it transported to the library later, but you are unlikely to find more that help further your knowledge and research just because they were nearby on a shelf. Library leadership no longer adheres to the first four laws and may refer to the fifth when bragging about the growth of the number of chairs, misleading the audience into believing that it’s proof of good librarianship.

Making decisions that adhere to The Five Laws should play the role of providing more and more relevant information for people. Conversely, The Five Laws should not influence decisions that create a barrier between people and necessary information.

References

Ranganathan, S. R. (1931). The Five Laws of Library Science. Edward Goldston, Ltd.

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