Relevance of Five Laws in Digital Era

449 International Journal of Advance and Applied Research www.ijaar.co.in ISSN – 2347-7075 Impact Factor – 8.141 Peer Reviewed Bi-Monthly Vol. 6 No. 39 September - October - 2025 Relevance of Five Laws in Digital Era Mrs. Pooja Prasad Chavan Librarian, Rajarshi Shahu Arts and Commerce College, Rukadi. Corresponding Author – Mrs. Pooja Prasad Chavan DOI - 10.5281/zenodo.17278584 Abstract: In today's information and technology era, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in libraries is increasing. It has become a routine for libraries to use ICT and new technologies to face the changing revolution. The use of ICT has made library automation easier. It includes efficient information retrieval, online cataloging, digital preservation of resources, time saving and 24/7 availability for readers and researchers. While providing all these services, Dr. S.R. Ranganathan made the five Laws for library science, which can be used in libraries to make them more efficient. Therefore, libraries will be able to provide more efficient and easy services in the digital age and will be more advanced. Introduction: The father of Indian library science, Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, is a renowned library scientist in the world and in India. He studied library science in depth and gave five Laws of library. Due to those five Laws, library science has become easier for the society and its work. The current era is the era of information technology and in this expanding era of information, libraries have to provide modern services to the readers along with traditional services. To use the five Laws of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan, information and communication technology can be used to convert information into digital, accessible and efficient components. In this, ICT fulfills the laws through online public access catalogue (OPAC), digital libraries and remote access, ensures the use of documents, users find their resources, resources reach their users, time is saved and the increasing nature of information systems is supported. ICT and Dr. S. R. Ranganathan's five Laws: 1. Books Are For Use: Ranganathan's first principle is that every book is for use. The term book is no longer associated with printed literature but is associated with all types of printed and unprinted documents containing information. Earlier, to fulfill this first principle, the location of the library, the library building, the furniture and other equipment in the library, the library time, the library staff, the selection of books and documents were all very important. In the present modern era, along with all these factors, due to the use of modern technology, physical barriers have been removed to some extent and information is now accessible to the readers without any barriers. Libraries are not only keeping printed literature in the library, but also making books and journals available to the readers. Many IJAAR Vol. 6 No. 39 ISSN – 2347-7075 Mrs. Pooja Prasad Chavan 450 out-of-print and rare books are being digitized and made available to the readers. It has become easier to search for documents in the library by using many types of programs. The advantage of this is that a large amount of information is not only preserved but also actively used, maximizing its value. 2. Every Reader Should Get His/Her Book: According to Ranganathan's second theory, the reader is at the centre. Readers are of different types and if we consider them from an educational perspective, they can be teachers, students, researchers. From the teacher's point of view, the necessary reading material is not necessarily useful for the student, therefore, the reading material should be provided to the reader by considering the reader. Studying readers is the need of every library. Readers do not know all types of reading material, therefore, the library staff along with the librarians should provide proper guidance to the readers. Providing services like Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI). Providing ICT base services means making them available with catalogued information as well as complete full-text databases in web connectivity. For example, Science Directory, Emerald Full Text, IEEE Journals, IEE Journals, Nature Journals, Compendex, Eivillage, Inspect of Eivillage, Maths Scienet. Along with that, software like virtual reference services, chat servers, question point (OCLC), subscription base journals along with free journals available to readers on the internet like LISTA AND DOAJ. Making it available. Enables users to find and access the exact information they need, A database, search engines and personalized recommendations help users find the specific resources they need, regardless of their location. 3. Every Book Should Have Its Reader: In Ranganathan's third theory, books, documents, reading materials are important. Books are for the use of readers. But books cannot reach the readers themselves, so librarians should provide services to the readers. Libraries use extended programs for readers, book design, book classification, fragmentary order, tabulation and guidance, guide boards, open door method. Along with that, libraries have to provide many services using ICT, considering the current needs of readers and the scope of information. These include making e-books, e-journals, Subject Reference Database Abstract, Census Data, Georeferenced Database available, along with the availability of the required book using Mobile Open Public Access Catalogue (MOPAC). Using ICT, we can use Web 2.0 technology along with RSS Feeds, Weblogs, Wikis, Streaming Media, Tagging, Social Networking, Twitter, Social Bookmarking, Flicker, Start Page, Podcasting along with Web 3.0 technology. Community Information Service is essential for every reader to have access to every piece of information. These include egovernance projects for employment, health, education and other schemes for the needy. Libraries and information professionals have to play the role of information navigators, knowledge managers, information evaluators by providing internet facilities and helping them to find the right information. The use of ICT through advanced cataloguing, search functionality and wide reach through digital platforms ensures that every available “document” can be found by the intended user. Its advantage is that it increases the reach and availability of resources by connecting them to their potential users, ensuring that no resource is left without access. IJAAR Vol. 6 No. 39 ISSN – 2347-7075 Mrs. Pooja Prasad Chavan 451 4. Save The Time Of The Reader: In libraries, information centres, readers or researchers come to find the information they need. Finding information is a very time-consuming task. According to the fourth principle, the valuable time of the reader or researcher should not be wasted in finding information. Also, the time of the library staff who provide efficient service in finding books should not be wasted. For this, librarians use appropriate software to perform cataloguing, classification, reference services, open access, fragmented services, provide new services and techniques, quick reference services, popular awareness services, Xerox services. ICT is used in providing these services. Along with online public access catalogue (OPAC), e-mail alerts, Internet of Things (IOT), library mobile app, robots, Big data, data harvesting, digital preservation, institutional repositories, it saves the time of the readers. Remote access to resources through the use of ICT significantly reduces the time spent by the users in searching for information. Thus, it provides fast and efficient delivery of information, which makes the entire user experience much faster and more effective compared to traditional manual systems. 5. Library Is A Growing Institution: Library is an institution and this institution is such that it grows with time. Therefore, Ranganathan's fifth principle is that the library is a growing institution. In the library, old things keep coming and new things keep coming. Information keeps getting updated. In the present era, information is exploding. In this era of information and technology, information is growing like a vast ocean. Proper planning and organization of this information has become the need of the hour. Information can be properly organized and planned using ICT. Due to the increasing information technology, the library has become wider than being limited to four walls. Along with traditional libraries, today digital libraries, virtual libraries, open libraries, research libraries, and various libraries are growing. Many new concepts are coming in this such as big data, cloud computing, world cat, bib frame, web 2.0, web 3.0, semantic web, repositories. It is the need of the hour to use modern concepts like digital collections, eresources and the developing infrastructure of the internet. It is clear that the library is an evolving institution. How We Can Apply These Five Laws In Library: The present era is the era of information and technology. Therefore, the world of information is constantly growing and information is moving at a very fast pace. Libraries have to face this fact and try to make more and more resources available to the readers. Along with this, the information should be obtained using certified sources and its authenticity should be verified. Information can also be false and fake. Library provides many types of traditional services along with many modern services that have been included in it. With the advent of ICT, there have been major changes in the services provided by libraries. Librarians and staff need to be familiar with modern means of communication. Innovative services using the Internet and Web 2.0 are being included with traditional services. Due to the explosion of information, it is the role of the librarian to ensure that the information is transparent, reliable, and authentic in a short time. Many times, the valuable time of the readers is wasted due to lack of skills in obtaining information. The librarian is not only a provider of information, but has also become a creator of information. IJAAR Vol. 6 No. 39 ISSN – 2347-7075 Mrs. Pooja Prasad Chavan 452 Today, knowledge has become interdisciplinary. The reader has deep knowledge in his own field. He has to absorb knowledge from many fields. In that, the librarian can be an intermediary. Libraries have transformed into information centres, not just repositories where books are available. Conclusion: By using information technology, we can make the library work easier and faster. The five Laws of the library that Dr. S. R. Ranganathan gave, we can still provide library services more efficiently by using information technology. Using new technology has become the need of the hour today. In this growing era of globalization, new technologies are developing. Libraries should also face changes with time. Fast and accurate information should be provided to the users when the carriers. While providing library management and library services, Dr. S. R. Ranganathan's five Laws should always be absorbed and worked. References: 1. Kumar, Sunil.,(2009) : The Future of Libraries. New Delhi : Rajat Publication 2. Mathew, Chetian.(2011) : Current Trends in Library Services. New Delhi : Cyber Tech Publications 3. Bhagwat Shashikala.,(2022) :  . Pune : Universal Prakashan 4. Nargunde Revati., (2013):    . Pune : Universal Prakashan 5. Phadke D.N.; (2021):      . Pune : Universal Prakashan 6. http://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/handle/ 1944/1290/41.pdf?sequence=1