THE LIBRARY'S PERCEPTION OF THE APPLICABILITY OF THE FIVE LAWS OF RANGANATHAN TO THE CONTEXT OF INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Abstract

It presents the results of the study whose general objective is to investigate the applicability of the five laws of Ranganathan and its influence on information management in libraries, in the city of Fortaleza. The research has an exploratory nature, and the data was collected through a questionnaire, in two methods of application: in locus, by the researcher and also sent electronically. Ten librarians, who work in public, university, specialized and school libraries participated in the empirical study. The results show that, in general, librarians have knowledge about the aforementioned laws and their applicability in information management, particularly the provision of informational products and services and the fulfillment of library objectives. Also, it became clear that, this understanding is more noticeable for those who have less time performing as professionals in market. In addition, most librarians point out that, the laws are intrinsic to the activities carried out within the libraries. We conclude that the laws, although elaborate and published in 1931, still reverberate in the performance of the librarians who participated in there search. This fact shows that understanding these laws can serve as a basis for optimizing services, contributing to innovation and promoting the quality of access to information, in the context the community where the libraries are inserted.