Rediscovering Ranganathan: A Prismatic View of His Life through the Knowledge Graph Spectrum

Abstract

The present study puts forward a novel biographical knowledge graph (KG) on S. R. Ranganathan, one of the pioneering figures in the LIS domain. It has been found that most of the relevant facts about Ranganathan exist in a variety of resources (e.g., books, essays, journal articles, websites, blogs, etc.), offering information in a fragmented and piecemeal way. With this dedicated KG (henceforth known as RKG), we hope to furnish a 360° view of his life and achievements. To the best of our knowledge, such a dedicated representation is unparalleled in its scope and coverage: using state-of-the-art technology for anyone to openly access, use/re-use, and contribute. Inspired by Ranganathan’s theories and ideas, the RKG was developed using a “facet-based methodology” at two levels: in the identification of the vital biographical aspects and the development of the ontological model. Finally, with this study, we call for a community-driven effort to enhance the RKG and pay homage to the Father of Library Science on the hundredth anniversary of his entry into the field of librarianship, which he revolutionized and revitalized as it developed into Library and Information Science.