The Formation of the Library System of India (19th - 20th centuries)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the formation and development of system of public libraries in India and their place in the educational, social, cultural and informational space of the country. The formation of the library system in India occurred during the complex colonial and post-colonial periods of its history. It took place in the conditions of underdevelopment, the uneven social, political and cultural development of the regions, ethnolinguistic disunity, and mass illiteracy of the population, dominating in the society of caste, religious and gender prejudices. The article demonstrates that public libraries in India, beginning with their appearance in the first half of the 19th century, had a special mission. They were considered not only as repositories of books, but, first of all, as centers of education, aimed to spread the knowledge, fight with ignorance by introducing to the reading, to raise the cultural and intellectual level of Indian society, thereby contributing to its prosperity. The article describes the main stages and directions of state policy of India in the field of librarianship from the early nineteenth to the late twentieth century, recounts the history of the founding of the National library, emphasized the role of Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation. In separate section there is considered the contribution to the library and information science of S.R. Ranganathan, the outstanding leader of Indian culture.