Page:ABC of Library Science.pdf/8

 Foreword Many educated men in our country are not fully aware of the potentialities of the libraries. This statement may sound strange, but it is true. Survival of democratic society depends largely on the well informed citizens. Libraries are very im- portant media through which right information is provided to all readers at right time. Needless to way that the intellectual growth of the citizens of Any country depends very much on the availability of well equipped libraries. To perform this basic and classic function, librarians, who are not mere oustodians of information-giving and knowledge- enhancing materials, have to organise the libraries In an imaginary way. They have to devise ways and means to supply all necessary informations to the needy readers expeditiously. The time-saving devices often used by the librarians are classification And cataloguing. The former individualises the book, Axes its place on the shelf and mechanises the Arrangement, and the latter tells the reader whether the material, in which he is interested, is available in the library or not, and if it is available where it is located. ix