Editorial 97 Library Review Vol. 56 No. 2, 2007 pp. 97-101 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0024-2535 DOI 10.1108/00242530710730268 EDITORIAL Ranganathan’s relevance in the 21st century David McMenemy Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK Abstract Purpose – To discuss the importance of S.R. Ranganathan’s teachings for librarians in the 21st century. Design/methodology/approach – The article is a reflective piece examining Ranganathan’s five laws of library science in their modern context. Findings – That we owe as much of a debt to Ranganathan today as we did when he first published his five laws in the 1920s. His laws remain relevant in numerous areas of modern library and information practice, and will continue to be reinterpreted by the profession for a long time to come. Practical implication – The paper argues for a revisiting of the works of Ranganathan and a continued championing of them in the library world. Originality/value – The value of the paper is in examining traditional library values in the modern era Keywords Librarianship, Librarians, Information science, Laws Paper type Viewpoint Attending an international conference can be an uplifting experience. Being present at sessions where you feel proud to be part of your chosen profession makes you realise how lucky you are to be in a room with like-minded souls who are striving for the same values. For me a reawakening of sorts occurred when I attended my second IFLA Conference in Berlin in 2003. Presiding over the opening session was Ranga Yogeshwar, a young German-based scientist. His relevance to the conference was not in what he had done but what his grandfather had done, for Ranga was the grandson of S.R. Ranganathan. I recall being in absolute awe at the warmth of the reception given to Ranga by the delegates; it was almost as if he himself was the great man. At that point I knew I had to learn much more than I already did about the writings of Ranganathan, and just why they were so highly valued by the global representatives of our profession gathered in that Berlin conference hall. S.R. Ranganathan had yet to publish his Five Laws of Library Science when this journal began its life 80 years ago, however in any period where one is reflecting on the history of a journal focused on library science it would be remiss not to focus on the five laws that have inspired our profession for almost the same period. Yet I have to confess to being one of those librarians who, having gained my Masters in the mid 1990s, was given very little exposure to the teachings of S.R. Ranganathan. Of course having worked in a large library for many years before qualifying professionally I was aware of his name, especially from the more mature librarians who held his creed close to their professional hearts. I also knew of his five laws, but I had never really studied them closely, nor had occasion to read any of his wider writings on librarianship. More importantly the dated language in Ranganathan’s Five Laws was off-putting to me, and as such I had neither occasion nor great desire to reflect on them in my early career. Perhaps this was because I met several librarians who used the language used by Ranganathan to reinforce their own prejudices that we should focus our energies on The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0024-2535.htm