--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use…" description: "\"Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use. Books are for all. Every book its reader, or every reader his book. Save the time of the reader. A library is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/s-r-ranganathan-57537_book_ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-b_772993.jpg" --- # Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use. Books are for… ![“Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use. Books are for all. Every book its reader, or every reader his book. Save the time of the reader. A library is a growing organism.” quote by S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/s-r-ranganathan-57537_book_ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-b_772993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/s-r-ranganathan-57537_book_ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-b_772993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/s-r-ranganathan-57537_book_ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-b_772993.jpg) > “Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use. Books are for all. Every book its reader, or every reader his book. Save the time of the reader. A library is a growing organism.” [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Library resources should be accessible, inclusive, and efficiently organized for all users, treating the library as a living system. **In simple terms:** Make books usable and available to everyone. Key Takeaway Design libraries that serve every patron. Themes accessibility inclusion efficiency systems community Mood thoughtful inspiring Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - public libraries - school libraries - digital archives - community outreach Key Concepts library science user-centered design information ecology Questions to Reflect On - How can libraries better match collections to community needs? - What policies ensure equitable access? A Different Perspective Neglecting user needs can create barriers and underutilization. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-reader/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-books/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I was a voracious reader and the library fed my curiosity, imagination and my soul. I read by the shelf - biographies, fantasy -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-was-a-voracious-reader-and-the-library-fed-my-curiosity-imagination/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [A library is a growing organism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/a-library-is-a-growing-organism/) [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) > [With paper printed books, you have certain freedoms. You can acquire the book anonymously by paying cash, which is the way I always buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/with-paper-printed-books-you-have-certain-freedoms-you-can-acquire/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [Go to the bookstore and look at how many bookshelves are filled with books trying to explain how to work the devices. We don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/go-to-the-bookstore-and-look-at-how-many-bookshelves-are-filled-with/) [Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/) > [Indeed, the best books have a use, like sticks and stones, which is above or beside their design, not anticipated in the preface,not concluded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/indeed-the-best-books-have-a-use-like-sticks-and-stones-which-is/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I love picture books - with picture books, you can use words and pictures as a double act, even tell two different versions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mini-grey/i-love-picture-books-with-picture-books-you-can-use-words-and/) [Mini Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mini-grey/) > [Learning is, in too many cases, but a foil to common sense; a substitute for true knowledge. Books are less often made use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/learning-is-in-too-many-cases-but-a-foil-to-common-sense-a-substitute-2/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“A little library, growing larger every year, is an honourable part of a man's history. It is a man's duty to have books. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-little-library-growing-larger-every-year-is-an-honourable-part-of-a/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [A library is an ever-growing entity; it multiples seemingly unaided, it reproduces itself by purchase, theft, borrowings, gifts, by suggesting gaps through association, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/a-library-is-an-ever-growing-entity-it-multiples-seemingly-unaided-it/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [There are 10,000 books in my library, and it will keep growing until I die. This has exasperated my daughters, amused my friends and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/there-are-10-000-books-in-my-library-and-it-will-keep-growing-until-i/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [A little library, growing every year, is an honorable part of a man’s history. It is a man’s duty to have books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-little-library-growing-every-year-is-an-honorable-part-of-a-man-s/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“A little library, growing larger every year, is an honorable part of a man's possessions. A library is not a luxury. It is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-little-library-growing-larger-every-year-is-an-honorable-part-of-a/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I may say it of our preposterous use of books,--He knew not what to do, and so he read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-may-say-it-of-our-preposterous-use-of-books-he-knew-not-what-to-do/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Books, says Lord Bacon, can never teach us the use of books; the student must learn by commerce with mankind to reduce his speculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/books-says-lord-bacon-can-never-teach-us-the-use-of-books-the-student/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Use Books as Bees Use Flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cited-by-honey-wax-booksellers-catalog/use-books-as-bees-use-flowers/) cited by Honey Wax Booksellers' catalog ## More by S. R. Ranganathan > [A library is a growing organism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/a-library-is-a-growing-organism/) [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) > [If you want to be a reference librarian, you must learn to overcome not only your shyness but also the shyness of others!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/if-you-want-to-be-a-reference-librarian-you-must-learn-to-overcome/) [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) > [ “Every reader his \[or her\] book.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/every-reader-his-or-her-book/) [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) > [A modern librarian, who has faith in the law that 'BOOKS ARE FOR USE,' is happy only when his readers make his shelves constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/a-modern-librarian-who-has-faith-in-the-law-that-books-are-for-use-is/) [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) > [Save the time of the reader, for it is valuable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/save-the-time-of-the-reader-for-it-is-valuable/) [S. R. Ranganathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) [Explore all 6 S. R. Ranganathan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use. Books are for all. Every book its reader, or every reader his book. Save the time of the reader. A library is a growing organism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "S. R. Ranganathan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-books-are-for-all-every-book/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-books-are-for-all-every-book/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/s-r-ranganathan-57537_book_ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-b_772993.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/s-r-ranganathan-57537_book_ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-b_772993.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/s-r-ranganathan-57537_book_ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-b_772993.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for use. Books are for all. Every book its reader, or every reader his book…” — S. R. Ranganathan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "S. R. Ranganathan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-r-ranganathan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ranganathan's 5 Laws: Books are for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-books-are-for-all-every-book/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-r-ranganathan/ranganathan-s-5-laws-books-are-for-use-books-are-for-all-every-book/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```