​During August 2021, Johannesburg Public Libraries ran a series of short videos on its Facebook page titled ‘Influential figures in Libraries’.

The series covered four influential figures who have shaped the development of the field of libraries during the past two centuries.

Melvil Dewey, Dorothy Porter, SR Ranganathan and Antonio Panizzi are names that are unfamiliar to most people, including many library professionals. Yet all these figures made significant contributions to the field of libraries in various ways.

The series was researched and presented by City of Johannesburg librarian Ferhaad Vally.

“My library information service studies did not dedicate much of its curriculum to the history of libraries, and discussions with some of my colleagues made me realise how little, we as librarians actually know about the history of our own profession.

“I thus envisaged this series of videos to spark interest in fellow librarians and bridge this knowledge gap,” said Vally.

The following personalities were covered in the series:

American librarian Dewey is arguably one of the most well-known figures in library history. His most notable contributions include:

– Development of the Dewey Decimal classification system

– Founding and editing the ‘Library Journal’

– Co-founder of the American Library Association.

Sadly, Dewey’s reputation is also tarnished by allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment.

Porter was the first black woman to graduate from Columbia’s library school. She was an ardent promoter of black culture in literature. Notable contributions include:

– Developing the collection of library material on Black history and culture at Howard University into the largest collection of its kind in the world

– Identifying and addressing racial biases in the Dewey Classification system

Indian mathematician and librarian Ranganathan is widely considered the ‘father of library science’ in India. He is most famously known for:

– Conceptualising the ‘five laws of library science’ which remain guiding principles for librarians today

– Development of an alternate system of classification known as the ‘Colon classification system’

– Establishing the Documentation Research and Training Centre in Bangalore

Trained as a lawyer, Panizzi is equally well known for being a librarian in England as well as being an Italian patriot. Panizzi was knighted by Queen Victoria in England, primarily due to:

– His growing of the library collection at the British Museum Library into one of the largest in the world

– Envisaging and designing of a new reading room at the British Library

Response to the video series has been positive. Vally said he was encouraged to produce more video content on the history of librarianship.

All four videos in the series as well as other exciting library related content can be accessed on the Joburg Libraries Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JoburgLibraries/

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30/08/2021