National Librarians' Day

 Dr. Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan

Dr. Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (August 12, 1892 – September 27, 1972) was a visionary Indian mathematician and librarian. Celebrated as the Father of Library Science in India, he completely transformed global library management by creating the Five Laws of Library Science and the pioneering Colon Classification system. 

Early Life and Education

Born in Shiyali (now Sirkazhi), Tamil Nadu, India.
Earned Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Mathematics from Madras Christian College.
Began his career as a college mathematics professor in Mangalore, Coimbatore, and Madras.

Transition to Library Science

Appointed the first librarian of the University of Madras in 1924, despite having no formal training.
Traveled to University College London to study modern library practices under pioneer W.C. Berwick Sayers.
Returned to India inspired to turn librarianship into a structured, scientific, and academic discipline. 

Major Contributions

Five Laws of Library Science (1931): Established core principles asserting that books are for use, every reader gets their book, every book finds its reader, the reader's time is saved, and a library is a growing organism. 
Colon Classification (1933): Developed the world's first major faceted classification system, deeply influencing indexing and older models like the Dewey Decimal System. 
Academic Leadership: Served as professor at Banaras Hindu University (1945–47) and the University of Delhi (1947–55), and founded the Documentation Research and Training Centre (DRTC) in Bangalore.

Honors and Legacy

Awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1957.
Honored as a National Research Professor in 1965.
India celebrates his birth anniversary, August 12, as National Librarians' Day.