Dr. S.R. Ranganathan Biography 
S.R. Ranganathan was a mathematician, academician, author and librarian from Shiyali, Tamil Nadu. He is considered to be the father of library science, documentation, and information science in India. His birthday is observed every year as the National Librarian's Day. His fundamental thinking in the field of library science makes him an internationally well-known figure. Five laws of library science and the development of the first major faceted classification system, the colon classification are his major contributions. Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 1957 for his contributions towards the field of library science.
He was a university librarian and professor of library science at Banaras Hindu University during the period 1945–47 and soon after independence he became the professor of library science at the University of Delhi, a position he served till 1955. He also served as president of the Indian Library Association from 1944 to 1953, and many other administrative positions in the field of library science throughout his active years.
His full name is Siyali Ramamrita Ranganathan. He is also shortly addressed as S.R.R. As per records he was born on 9 August 1892, though he certifies his birth date as 9 August 1892 in one of his books. His birthplace is Ramamrita in Siyali from Tamil Nadu, at present known as Ubayavethanthapuram in Thiruvarur District. After completing his graduation and post-graduation in Mathematics from Madras Christian College, Ranganathan began his professional life as a mathematician and later became a teacher. Later he served as a librarian for two decades in Chennai.
Throughout his life he taught mathematics and library science at different colleges and mathematics, which was his sole aim of life. As a mathematics professor, he published several papers mainly on the history of mathematics. He passed away on 27 September 1972, aged 80.
Published: N/A
Updated: November 26, 2018
