Reordering Ranganathan: Shifting User Behaviors, Shifting Priorities
Channel: OCLC Research
Date: 2014-08-04

In this webinar, Senior Research Scientist Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D., and Associate Research Scientist Ixchel Faniel, Ph.D., present an overview of their report "Reordering Ranganathan: Shifting User Behaviors, Shifting Priorities" in which they suggest how a reordering and a reinterpretation of each of Shiyali Ramamrita Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science can be applied to today's world. Although Ranganathan's five laws provide a powerful framework for evaluating library programs, policies and strategies for generations of librarians, Lynn and Ixchel contend the laws can be reordered and reinterpreted to reflect the current resources and services available for use and the behaviors that people demonstrate when engaging with them. In their 45-muinute presentation, Lynn and Ixchell explain their recommendations of how their reinterpretation of the laws can help evolve both the work done by libraries and the perceptions of libraries and librarians. For more information, read the Reordering Ranganathan report at http://oclc.org/research/publications/library/2014/oclcresearch-reordering-ranganathan-2014-overview.html or download the webinar slides http://oclc.org/research/events/2014/07-08.html.