Editing Five laws of library science (section)

==Overview==

===First Law: Books are for use===
The first law of library science, "Books are for use," constitutes the basis for library services. This law means that [[Book|books]] in libraries are not meant to be shut away from users. Ranganathan observed that books were often chained to prevent their removal and that the emphasis was on storage and preservation rather than use.<ref name="brennan">{{cite web |url=https://www.railslibraries.info/director-blog/20130327/five-laws-library-science |title=The Five Laws of Library Science |last=Brennan |first=Deirdre |date=March 27, 2013 |website=RAILS |access-date=April 29, 2022}}</ref> He did not reject the notion that preservation and storage were important, but he asserted that the purpose of such activities should be to promote use.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=McMenemy |first=David |date=2007-03-06 |title=Ranganathan's relevance in the 21st century |url=https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00242530710730268/full/html |journal=Library Review |language=en |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=97–101 |doi=10.1108/00242530710730268 |issn=0024-2535|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Without user access to materials, there is little value in these items. By emphasizing use, Dr. Ranganathan refocused the attention of the field to access-related issues,<ref name="Rubin"/> such as the library's location, loan policies, hours and days of operation, the quality of staffing, and mundane matters, such as library furniture and [[temperature control]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fleming-May |first=Rachel A. |date=2011 |title=What Is Library Use ? Facets of Concept and a Typology of Its Application in the Literature of Library and Information Science |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/660133 |journal=The Library Quarterly |language=en |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=297–320 |doi=10.1086/660133 |s2cid=145419117 |issn=0024-2519|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Second Law: Every person his or her book===
The second law of library science, "Every person his or her book," means that librarians should serve a wide collection of patrons, acquire literature to fit a wide variety of needs, and refrain from prejudice or judging what specific patrons choose to read. Librarians should respect that everyone is different and that everyone has different [[Aesthetic taste|tastes]] regarding the books they choose. After the publication of ''The Five Laws of Library Science,'' Ranganathan named children, the [[Physical disability|physically disabled]], artisans, newly literate adults, the [[Intellectual disability|intellectually disabled]], [[Working class|working-class]] individuals, and individuals with niche interests as specific groups of potential readers that are served through the application of the second law.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ranganathan|first=S. R.|title=Library science and scientific method|journal=[[Annals of Library and Information Studies]]|volume=4|issue=1|pages=26–27|publisher=[[Indian National Scientific Documentation Centre]]|location=[[New Delhi]]|date=March 1957|language=en|url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/28515/1/ALIS%204%281%29%2019-32.pdf|issn=0972-5423}}</ref> In addition, a library collection must represent the community it serves.<ref name=":0" />

===Third Law: Every book its reader===
The third law of library science, "Every book its reader," means all books have a place in the library, even if only a small demographic might choose to read them.<ref name="brennan" /> Ranganathan later clarified that the term "book" could be generalized to mean any document.{{sfn|Ranganathan|1957|p=28}}

===Fourth Law: Save the time of the reader===
The fourth law of library science, "Save the time of the reader," means that all patrons should be able to easily locate the materials they desire quickly and efficiently. The practice of librarianship creates systems, services, workflows, guides and frameworks to the benefit of practicality to the user.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hudson|first=David James|chapter=The Whiteness of Practicality|title=Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Studies|editor-last=Schlesselman-Tarango|editor-first=Gina|pages=203–234|date=2017|location=Sacramento|publisher=Library Juice Press|url=https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/handle/10214/11619|access-date=28 April 2022}}</ref> Ranganathan said the fourth law in turn saves the time of the library staff through such practices as centralized [[classification]] and [[Cataloging (library science)|cataloging]], documenting materials before sending them to the library that ordered them, and mechanizing methods for information retrieval.{{sfn|Ranganathan|1957|p=29-30}}

===Fifth Law: A library is a growing organism===
The fifth law of library science, "A library is a growing organism," means that a library, like an [[organism]], should be a dynamic institution that is never static in its outlook. Ranganathan identified two types of growth: growth that increases the quantity of items in the library's collection, and growth that improves the collection's overall quality through the replacement of materials.{{sfn|Ranganathan|1957|p=30}} Books, methods, and the physical library should be updated over time. There needs to be a consideration of growing physical space, but in the 21st century this has come to mean the multiple formats and platforms a collection can encompass.<ref name=":0" />