LIS415: Ranganathan

Shiyali Ramamrita
Ranganathan
& the Colon Classiﬁcation System
Alison Thornton & Joshua Parker
18 October 2006
Simmons College, Graduate School of Library & Information Science
LIS 415 - 02: The Organization of Information • Dr. Daniel Joudrey

Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan & the Colon Classification System

Life & Achievements (1892-1972):
 Education:
 Madras Christian College (Madras): Mathematics BA 1913, MA 1916
 Teachers College (Saidapet): Teaching License 1917
 University of London, School of Librarianship: Honors Certificate 1925
 A Few Achievements:
 First librarian at Madras University
 Responsible for the reorganization of Indian Libraries
 Founder of the Madras Library Association
 Co-founder Indian Library Association
 Founder of the Documentation Research and Training Center in Bangalore
 Author of several books and other works
 Contributions to Library Community:
 The term “Library Science”
 Library Administration and Management
 Reference Service
 The Five Laws
 The Colon Classification
Alison Thornton & Joshua Parker • Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan & the Colon Classification System • Presented: 18 October 2006
Simmons College, Graduate School of Library & Information Science • LIS 415-02: The Organization of Information • Dr. Daniel Joudrey


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

 Modern-day application of the Five Laws
 The laws as applied to Colon Classiﬁcation



Colon Classification - A Faceted Approach:
 [ ] Main Class: Broad subject area Research in the cure of the

 [ , ] Personality: Primary subject aspect, tuberculosis of lungs by
x-ray in India in 1950s
identified after the other facets by the “Residual
L,45;421:6;253:f.44'N5
Method”
 [ ; ] Matter: The material, composition, L Medicine
45 Lungs
property, or method of the subject
421 Tuberculosis
 [ : ] Energy: The action, activity, or work 6 Treatment
253 Research
associated with the subject f X-ray
 [ . ] Space: The geographical or spatial 44 India
N5 1950s
aspect of the subject Example taken from: Chan, L. M. (1994).
Cataloging and Classification: An

 [ ′ ] Time: The temporal aspect of the subject Introduction (2nd ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill.



Advantages and Disadvantages:
 Advantages of the Colon Classification:
 Very flexible
 Able to easily accommodate new scientific discoveries, intellectual
innovations, & cultural developments
 Provides detailed and accurate subject classification
 Recognizes that hierarchical arrangements are not always adequate

 Disadvantages of the Colon Classification:
 Extremely complex system
 Time consuming subject analysis and description
 Results in very long call numbers (L,45;421:6;253:f.44'N5 = 22 characters!!)



The Legacy of Colon Classification (CC):
 Colon Classification is not widespread in libraries
 CC has strongly influenced other classification schemes; most
major systems (although not LCC) now include at least some
aspects of a faceted system
 Faceted classification systems are increasing in popularity for
electronic resources
 Epicurious.com
 Yahoo! Directory search
 del.icio.us & Connotea.org
 Efforts at MIT to create a self-guiding eResources portal



Bibliography
Batty, C. D. (1967). An introduction to colon classiﬁcation. Hamden, CT: Archon Books.

Chan, L. M. (1994). Cataloging and classiﬁcation: an introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Cloonan, M. V. and Dove, J. G. (2005). Ranganathan online [Electronic version]. Library Journal (1976), 130(6), 58-60.
Retrieved October 2, 2006 from the Library Literature & Information Full Text database.

Finks, L. W. (1992). A centennial salute to Ranganathan [Electronic version]. American Libraries, 23(July/August 1992), 593-
594. Retrieved October 2, 2006 from the Library Literature & Information Full Text database.

Gabridge, T.A., Hennig, N., Lubas, R., and Wenzel, S.G. (2005). When a librarian’s not there to ask: Creating an information
resource advisory tool [Electronic version]. In Thompson, H.A. (Ed.) Currents and convergence: Navigating the rivers of
change. Proceedings of the ACRL 12th National Conference, April 7–10, 2005, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chicago:
Association of College and Research Libraries. Retrieved October 5, 2006 from
www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlevents/gabridge05.pdf.

Glassel, A. (1998, March). Was Ranganathan a Yahoo!? End User's Corner. Retrieved October 7, 2006
http://scout.wisc.edu/Projects/PastProjects/toolkit/enduser/archive/1998/euc-9803.html.



Bibliography
Gopinath, M.A. (2003). Ranganathan, Shiyali Ramarita [Electronic version]. In Drake, M. A. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Library and
Information Science. New York: Dekker. Retrieved October 2, 2006 from Dekker Encyclopedias.

Gorman, M. (1998). The five laws of library science: Then and now [Electronic version]. School Library Journal, 44(7).
Retrieved October 10, 2006 from the Library Literature & Information Full Text database.

Kabir, A. M. F. (2003). Ranganathan: A universal librarian [Electronic version]. Journal of Educational Media & Library
Sciences, 40(4), 453-459. Retrieved October 2, 2006 from the Library Literature & Information Full Text database.

Kashyap, M. M. (2002). A sketch of a code for developing computer-based library information systems based on classified
catalogue code of Ranganathan (part-II) [Electronic version]. DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology, 22(2), 27-61.
Retrieved September 14, 2006 from the Library Literature & Information Full Text database.

Leiter, R. A. (2003). Reflections on Ranganathan’s five laws of library science [Electronic version]. Law Library Journal, 95(3),
411-418. Retrieved October 2, 2006 from the Library Literature & Information Full Text database.

Mole, H. V. (2005). Indian seminar honors Dr. S. R. Ranganathan [Electronic version]. Quarterly Bulletin of the International
Association of Agricultural Information Specialists, 50(1/2), 59. Retrieved October 2, 2006 from the Library Literature &
Information Full Text database.



Bibliography
Neelameghan, A. (2005). Subject architecture model and building construction model: A system perspective [Electronic version].
Information Studies, 11(4), 207-12. Retrieved October 2, 2006 from the Library Literature & Information Full Text database.

Ranganathan, S. R. (1933). Colon classification. Madras: The Madras Library Association.

Ranganathan, S. R. (1960). Colon classification (6th ed.). Bombay: Asia Publishing House.

Ranganathan, S. R. (1965). The colon classification. New Brunswick, NJ: Graduate School of Library Service, Rutgers, the State
University.

Ranganathan, S. R. (1967). A descriptive account of the colon classification. Bombay: Asia Publishing House.

Satija, M. P. (1989). Colon classification, 7th edition: a practical introduction. New Delhi: Ess Ess Publications.

Taylor, A. G. (2004). Wynar's introduction to cataloging and classification. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.


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