Futfuture of Documentation in India

8/12/2019 Futfuture of Documentation in India

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Ranganathan, Shiyali Ramamrita.

Documentation and Its Facets: Being a Symposium of Seventy Papers byThirty-two Authors

(Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science, Series 10).

Asia Publishing House, 1963.

Copyright Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science (SRELS)

Digitization: Susan Ditch, SIRLS, University of ArizonaQuality Control: Megan Plesea, SIRLS, University of Arizona

Digitization Training:Han Yan, Information Systems, University ofArizona & dLIST Editor

Project Coordinator: Cheryl K. Malone, Assoc. Prof. SIRLS, University ofArizona & dLIST EditorDigitized: Spring 2007

Acknowledgments: SRELS (A. Neelameghan, K.N. Prasad, K.S.

Raghavan, DRTC) and dLIST Advisory Board Member, S. Arunachalam(MS Swaminathan Research Foundation)

dLIST Classics (Book) Editor:Barbara Hutchinson, University of ArizonadLIST Editor-in-chief: Anita Coleman, University of Arizona

dLIST Classics

Titles by S.R.Ranganathan

Five Laws of Library Science, Ed. 1 (1931)

Philosophy of Library Classification (1973)Prologemena to Library Classification, Ed. 3 (1967)

Classification and Communication (1951)

Documentation Genesis and Development (1973)Documentation and its Facets (1963)

Library Book Selection, Ed. 2 (1966)New education and school library: Experience of half a century (1973)

Reference Service, Ed. 2 (1961)

Other titles

S.R. Ranganathan's Postulates and Normative Principles: Applications in

Specialized Databases Design, Indexing, and Retrieval, 1997. Compiled byA. Neelameghan.

Memorablia Ranganathan: A compilation of useful quotations of S.R.

Ranganathan from his various works, 1994.Putting Knowledge to Work: An American View of the Five Laws of

Library Science, 1970. By Pauline Atherton.

Read the dLIST Classics online!http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/
http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/


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art

F U T U R E F D O C U M E N T T I O N


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CHAPTER NlFUTUR OF DOCU\MENT TPON IN INDI

S R Ranganathan and S ParthasarathyIntroduction

Development of documentation is a function varying parallelwith the developm ent of research an d particu larly of research-in-series by a team of workers including many at different removesfrom a self-helping genius. Such a team research is itself a functionvarying parallel with the development of industrialisation. Induy-trialisation in its tu rn is in the last analysis a function of populationpressure and wakefulness of a community. India has now enteredthe ascending phase of her current cultural cycle after recoveryfrom her rest period of a few centuries. The wakefulness of thecommunity is therefore on the increase. Also, India's populationpressure has crossed the line of balance between itself and thenatural and near-natural commodities, and the form and thequantity of means of transport available todaj-. The 1961 censushas revealed a 20 increase in population. Therefore, intensifica-tion of industrialisation is inevitable in the future. To make itgive th e best results, intensification of research in pure, applied,and social sciences, including management science, is inevitable.Consequently concerted research in different aubject complexesis inevitable in the futu re. T h e research te am should draw heavilyhereafter from the intellectual strata more and more removedfrom the thin stratum of men of genius. To prevent dissipation of


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N1 FUTUR O DOCUMENTATION

we should take a peep into the future of documentation beyothe Third Plan Period described in part M . We should take sua peep in the following sequence:1 Social Sciences;2 New fields in ap plie d sciences;Orga nisation of docu m entation work;4 Physical pro du ction of doc um entatio n lists;5 Documentation service;Tra nslation service7 Docum entation standards n dThe unpredictable emergent evolution characterising sociea n d its needs.

ocial ciencesResearch in social sciences is just taking shape. Our vast indutria l undertakings baffling m on eta ry problems political activiti

interna tional relations dem ogra phic a n d othe r sociological problemand colossal educational development can no longer be met bthe sheer flair a n d commonsense in a.few leaders no r y our lookiback a n d tying oneself dow n to precedents in a tradition al bureacratic way. The factors involved are far too many for control bflair. The scale of operations is far too vast for guidance by punprecedents. New thought should be created. Its creation will havto be fed by new thought produced in social sciences in evep ar t of the world. T h e learned periodicals in th e different branchof social sciences should be documented promptly and served political leaders a n d administkators to he lp them in making decisioand to those engaged in social science research.

The field of social sciences is now being flooded by governme


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FUTUR OF DOCUMRNT TION IN WDIA N 3a dozen papers a plan of action was drawn up in the last sessionof that Seminar. The results of the deliberation have been broughtout by the Indian School of International Studies. [R347

New Fields in pplied SciencesDocumentation in India has only touched the fringe of applied

sciences. Our present exchange diffculties act as a good in disguise.In the near future even the import of technical skill and designs willhave to be stopped. They should be replaced by our own work with-in the country in each one of the thousands of arts and crafts.Methods of exploiting locally available minerals and other materialsand converting them into industrial commodities will have to becontinuously invented by thousands of our own people. I t is toolate in the day to depend on the old wasteful casual developmentin applied sciences. Documentation in this field \hould be enlargedto a considerable extent.

3 Organisation of Documentation WorkThe expansion in documentation outlined in the two preceding

ections would call for a more complex organisation than we haveow for documentation work. I t is unwise to leave the develop-

ment of documentation to the play of laissez faire We cannot lookto the long-developed countries for our model. In fact they them-selves appear to feel the inefficiency inevitable in such a casualdevelopment. India should have a carefully worked plan for theuccessive stages in the development of the organisation for docu-

mentation. Perhaps the most helpful policy will be to aim atmultiple centres of documentation based on subject complexes.How many such centres should be established where they shouldbe established and how soon .are questions that should be faced.Another important question is the residual subject fields to be


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N 3 FUTURE O F DOCUMENTATIONresearch workers themselves give part of their time. One shoulknow how much this diversion interferes with the tempo anconcentration of research though such a n organisation is a n improvement over self documentation by each.

Physical Reproduction of Documentation ListsThe nature of documentation work makes it obligatory to distribute it over centres of subject concentration. For, the selectioof micro documents for inclusion in the documentation lists, thei

de pth classification, a n d the work of abstra cting with prop er slanrequire a n intim ate knowledge of research in progress a n d constanconsultation with the research workers themselves. On the otheha nd , the physical produ ction of doc um enta tion list is a n impersonaaffair. I t ca n be done more economically an d on a m ore uniformstandard from one centre. By the t ime the organisation reaches complex level in the co un try, we ca n expe ct tran spo rt facilities timp rove sufficiently to get over the prob lem inh erent in londistances separating the one centre of physical production fromthe many centres for the preparation of documentation lis ts .

Documentation ServiceT h e pa rt of doc um enta tion service needing attentio n is reprographyEven now th er e is need for m an y centres say, in Bom bay, Calcutta

Delhi, Madras, and Bangalore. The number of centres will have tobe gradually increased in the measure of specialisation in theacquisition of original materials in different areas. This specialisation, it m ay be stated here, will be necessary to ma ke th e country total provision for purchase of the documents secure a welbala nce d a n d fuller coverage of docum ents published i n th e worldDo cum entation service will also req uire indigenous productionsufficient in quantity and adequate in standard of the materialsneeded, such as, cameras, raw films, photographic papers, chemical


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FUTURE OF DOCUMENT TION IN INDI N 8

communication. I t is difficult to imagine how this problem willget solved in the future.

ocumentation StandardsAdvantage should be taken of India. entering into the field of the

production of scientific documents and of documentation workrather late in the day. Much of the wasteful methods of organisa-tion and methods of work unavoidably incident in earlier developedcountries can be averted in India. To do so, we should from thevery beginning become standard conscious. e should developdiverse documentation standards concurrently with documentation

ice. This will remove many of the irrational resistance tof documents and documentation lists. We should in this way

ticular we should avoid importing the traditions casually

Emergent EvolutionIt is not possible at this stage to give more than the rough blue

That should be left to the care of emergent evolution.at we do a t any stage should hamper rethinking and

at later stages. Our planning a nd organisation should

ur motto should be What is achieved is only a stepping


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C H A P T E R N 2FUTURE OF INTERN TION L DOCUM ENT TION

S R Ranganathan and S Parthasarathy1 Introduction

The essence of international documentation is the productionab stractin g periodicals in all subject complexes with world coveragpro duc ed by inte rnatio nal co-operation. Th is is a n ideal to be wore d up to. A scheme was worked o ut in 1947 for such a n organisatioof international docunlentation [R3]. Reviewing it today oneasily sees a missing link in the organisation then suggested.concerns the impending problem of multiplicity of the languageinherent in the cultural awakening and recovery from the resperiod of many linguistic groups. The scheme outlined in thchapter supplies that missing link.

Subject CoverageT h e region of N atu ral Sciences should be grou ped into a numbeof viable subject complexes. Viability w ill have to be determine

by factors such as the total literature production in the grouth e inter-relation am ong th e subjects com prehended an d econompracticability in the light of the number of consumers or marke

Fo r exam ple a na rrow subject suc h as Nu clear Physics Management may warrant the maintenance of an independeab strac tin g periodical of its own. This is no doubt justified by th


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There are abstracting periodicals in several branches of Chemis-try. But there is a criss-cross relation among them. This warrantsthe maintenance of a huge omnibus abstracting periodical inChemistry, comprehending all its branches, covering as manys 9,000 periodicals listing as many as 150,000 articles in a year.

The history of abstracting periodicals from Concilium biblio-grakhicum onwards see sec C15 has been only of a succession ofcasualities caused by wreckage on the rock of finance. The Inter-national catalogue oJ scientific literature was another ambitious projectunceremoniously wrecked. Economic viability depends naturallyupon the financial capacity of the market. This is greater in subjectsnearest to the industries. Social needs make the industries persist.This makes possible continued financial support by the market.This is borne out by the unimpeded career of Chemisches ~entralblattwhich has been in existence for over 130 years, and is still goingstrong.

The break-even point between the three factors is not easilydeterminable. Nor is it likely to be permanent. The discovery ofsome means of finding out the break-even point so as to minimisethe chances for discontinuance of some abstracting periodicalswill have to be made. The adoption of the Donker Duyvis Planor the Bernal Plan see sec P12 and P13 is likely to support abstract-ing periodicals in several subjects. The incidence of energy facetsformed by subject device in an ever increasing number of subjectsbelonging to diverse basic classes on the one hand, and the increas-


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ht22 5 PUTURE O F DOCUMENT TION

Refrativnyi thurnal Though begun only in 1953, its section dealinwith Machinery has already thrown out 2 proliferations.

3 International DocumentationLanguage forms a vital factor in the intcrnational organisatio

of abstracting periodicals. I t has been increasing in importancduring the lact hundred years. The two World Wars mark differenepochs in respect of this factor.

Beforc World \ ar I, most of the scientific cornmunicatioiis wcrein just a few language., of FYestern Europe. Therefore there wanot much of rcpetition of abstracting periodicals in a subject inmany languages.

After World War I, the countries of Eastern Europe revivedand rapidly developed their research activities. In a little morethan a generation, the number of periodicals themselves wenton increasing in the Slavonic languages. Naturally, the numberof research workers has also increascd correspondingly. A stagehas now been reached when there is need as well as viability forabstracting periodicals for diversc subject complexes in Rucsian.

USSR finds it impracticable to continue any longer todepend on the abstracting periodicals in the fcw languages of WesternEurope.

After T\Torld War 11, new life has begun to burst in Asia andAfrica. We already see signs of the several languages of these


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will generate a centripetal force in the international organisation ofocumentation.4 Future of FID

At present, the FI D continues to be virtually a Western organisa-f its mem bers of th e need for ma king i t interna tional in fact. T hestation deve loped du rin g th e last ha lf century is difficulto break. T h e inexorable, unconscious tho ug h it be, permeationf Asia a n d Africa t o a cq uire th e necessary intensity to cause

It is now too earlyo predict t he way in w hich the p roblem of multiplicity of languagesFID

Conjecture on Co operationWe can only hazard a conjecture as one possible way of egective

sible to agree u po n a n interna tional spoken an d written languagea bridge

ow assum es a n ea rly estab lishm ent of such a classificatoryT h e fun dam en tal work now being done in India andked o u t for th e furthe r developm ent of a general theory ofsee Sec P2 ncourages one t o feel th a t this assumption

not a ltog ether hypothetical.


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N25 PUTURE O DOOUMENTATION

514 Without loss of generality we shall assume for conveniencof exposition that there are five such groups of languages. We shadenote by A B C D E their respective preferred languages. Thgroups of countries themselves may be called respectively A grouB group etc.

520 What follows looks at the conjectured scheme from thangle of language A. Whatever is said of A should be taken said of B C D E also.

521 In each of the A group countries there will be a nationdocumentation centre.522 By mutual agreement the national documentation centre

in the countries in A group will share the responsibility for thproduction of abstracting periodicals in the subject complexefalling to their share.

523 A national documentation centre will have a two-folresponsibility-to prepare abstracts for all the scientific periodicaof its own country and transmit them to the concerned nationadocumentation centres in its group for incorporation in the abstracing periodical; it will also receive from the other countries of thgroup their respective abstracts in the subject complex falling to itshare and publish the international bibliography in it.

524 Let us denote by AX the national documentation centrof the country of the A group responsible for the internationaabstracting periodical in the subject complex X.

531 AX will send to each of BX CX DX and EX a copy oits abstracting periodical in the subject complex X along witits own translation into the respective languages B C D E. Fodefiniteness let us take it to be the first issue for the year.


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F U T U R E OF I N T E B N T I O N L D O C U M E N T T IO N N271535 This is in addition to the help given by the classificatory

translation of the content of the article abstracted given at thehead of each abstract.536 AX will produce a translation of the abstracting periodicalsreceived from BX CX DX and EX as a single fascicule. Wemay call this the first issue of a translated abstracting periodical.

537 Thus the countries of the A group will be regularly suppliedwith abstracting periodicals in all the subject complexes coveringall the countries of the world.

538 I t follows that every country will have abstracting periodicalsin its own preferred language in every subject complex and withworld coverage.

5391 Any break down in the working of this system caused bypolitical or other causes will be localised.

6 Suggestion to FIDIt is time for the FI to extend its new programme of activities

outlined in the 1959 Warsaw Conference by thinking along theselines in order to make it an efficient and truly international agencyin documentation.

Co ordination and Conservation ofInternational Effort

At present the English speaking group and the Russian groupof countries are constantly drifting towards a partial realisation ofthe scheme outlined in sec 5. Perhaps they do not look at it in thatway. I t all appears to be done in a spirit of rivalry and exclusivenessrather than that of participativeness and co-ordination as envisagedin the scheme of sec 5.


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N27 FUTURE O F DOOUMENTATIONan d the other half will be due to physical production an d distr ibtion. Then the saving in cost will be 50 .

The only additional work to be put will be that of translatioThis extra work cannot be eliminated. The collation of the twtranslations of the same abstracts done by one whose mother tongis the translated-from lang uag e a n d by a no the r w hose mothtongue is the translated-into the language as provided in the schewill ensure the best possible translation. Between the availabilitythe research workers in the countries of group A of the abstracof the articles produced in that group and the availability of tsame to the research workers in the countries of the other grouthere will be a difference of only one month.


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