Librametry
Librametry
In 1948 at the Aslib’ s conference in Lamington Spa, Ranganathan introduced the term Librametry for the first time. He suggested to develop librametry on the lines of biometry, econometry, and psychometry( 2). His suggestions were avidly welcomed at the conference by Bernal and others. The term Librametrics has two roots: Libra and Metry. The word‘ Libra’ connotes‘ library’ and‘ metrics’ means measurement. Further, as the librarian of the Madras University Library, he practiced various librametric techniques way back in 1925, in order to solve day today library problems and to streamline the day-to-day library activities, services for their clientele and also for the betterment of library professional as a whole( 31)
The scope of the library is limited to the quantitative study of books, readers and staff. Here the books, readers and staff are the three constituent elements or factors of the library. The absence of any one of the three will make the library cease to exist. Each has its own potentiality and it is only a sum of the three that makes a library. Thus we can measure all the Characteristics of books, readers and staff.
The library book selection, acquisition, accessioning, classification, cataloguing, stack arrangement, publicity, reference service, circulation activities can be measured. The library reader’ s book use behaviour can be quantifiable. The library staff-their satisfaction, dissatisfaction-also can be measured. Even we can include library accounting, budgeting and manpower planning. Ranganathan( 27) in his paper presented in the DRTC 7 th Annual Seminar( 1969) suggested a few examples of statistics to library science. Based on his experience and the experiments carried out at the Documentation Research and Training Centre, Neelameghan( 23) outlined the applications for Librametrics:
1. Determination of the strength of library staff; 2. Disposition of library staff for circulation work during different library hours; 3. Disposition of library staff for reference service during different library hours 4. Organization of library system; Establishing the distinction between“ service library” and“ dormitory library”; 5. Design of library building, fittings, and furniture; 6. Book selection; 7. Absolute syntax and facet syntax in relation to classification; 8. Length of class number; 9. Variation in style in writing catalogue entries; and 10. DOC-Finder.
Statistical techniques are also useful in
1. Transfer of a big library from one building to another; 2. Periodical changes in the sequence of subjects in shelving of books in the stack room in relation to saving of the time of readers.