New Education and School Libraries

Works of Dr. Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan (S.R. Ranganathan) need no introduction. They are renowned not because they cover certain facet of library and information science, but because they have been written by the father of library science in india, Dr. Ranganathan. These library science classics have been reprinted to make Dr. Ranganathan's work available to the current generation of librarians and for those to come. This last book by S.R. Ranganathan is a classic on the why, that is, the necessity and role of school library in education for a 'changing world'. About half of the text is devoted to a discussion of educational theory focusing on the centrality of the library in learning and teaching processes (cf. John Dewey, educational philosopher). A thorough analysis of 'what' of the school library.- dealing with each of its constituents: reading materials, human constituents; location, building and furniture. This is followed by several chapters on the 'how' of the school library - promoting reading habit, inspirational reading, reading for pleasure and recreation, imbibing values, social responsibility, personal development, etc. The techniques of organizing library materials and providing services to meet the information needs of different categories of users of the school library and to support the educational role of the library are elaborated.. Adequate attention is given to important aspects of management, administration and policy issues. All these are implied by the Five Laws of Library Science as the author points out.Ã?Â?Ã?Â?Ã?Â?Ã?Â?