Shri Iyyanki Venkata Ramanayya or Ayyanki Venkata Ramanaiah (Telugu: అయ్యంకి వెంకటరమణయ్య) (24 July 1890 – 1979) is recognised as the "Architect of Public Library Movement in India".[2] He is the first Indian to be awarded the Kaula Gold Medal.[3]
Through his career as an influential library leader throughout the
entire country, Ramanayya was seen as a respected peer and mentor by S. R. Ranganathan.
Early career
He was born in konkuduru village of Ramachandrapuram taluq in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh to Venkata Ratnam and Mangamamba.[4] He studied in Tailor High School and influenced by Bipin Chandra Pal entered public service.
Shri Iyyanki entered public life in the year 1907 at the age of 19
and was instrumental in establishing the First State Library Association
in Indian – Andhra Desa Library Association (1914), Bengal Library Association
(1925). He contributed to the foundation of the Madras Library
Association (1928), Punjab Library Association (1929) at state level and
All India Public Library Association (1919) at the national level.
Between 1934–1948 he toured the coastal districts and organised
library tours in large scale by the district secretaries. As a result,
hundreds of libraries are opened and many are reopened. He organised
training camps for the library secretarires in 1920 and 1934. It is not
exaggeration if one can say he toured almost all villages in Andhra
Pradesh.
