Page:ABC of Library Science.pdf/34

 20 must be spacious enough to accommodate a suffici ently large number of readers. Seating and lighting satisfactory and perfect. moving-space arrangements must be Adequate elbow room and must be left between chairs and tables. The place where the books are arranged in rows must be such as to enable the readers to pass by without difficulty. must be easily accessible. The top most row of books There must be various guide cards in promin- ent places to guide the reader automatically to the books on different subjects arranged on the stack. Above all, it must be borne in mind as a cardinal principle that the library staff must receive all per- sons who visit the library in a truly polite and courteous manner and render them all help. It is. this human touch that will help the growth of libra- ries more than any other thing. In short, the five laws of library science de- tailed above should be considered as the "Panch Sheel" of the librarians and the library authorities. Although many have written on the philosophy of rary service, it has been given to Dr. S. R. Ran- ganathan to admirably reduce this into these five fundamental laws which indeed constitute the very basis of library service.