social and business development, science and industrial development as well as agricultural and political changes. The section on the Indian community focused on the nature of the community and highlighted the need for more libraries, qualified librarians and the developments and improvements needed for libraries that were already in existence.
Many authors have investigated various aspects of providing library services to multicultural communities. Problems, challenges and technological changes have been the focus of different studies within the field of community libraries/services. Changes in demographics affect the provision of information, in that librarians would have a larger diversity of religious and cultural groups to cater for. and this includes the Hindu community where such communities exist.
Chengiah Ragaven's research into The philosophy of God consciousness in the life of Ramakrishnu Paramahamsa (1999) explained the concept of God consciousness in Hinduism.
The writer revealed the life of Ramakrishna, his social experiences and his explorations into religion. Other studies such as Singh's (1992): Kali pooja as a paradigm of Hindu ritual worship investigated specific aspects of Hinduism and the practices observed and undertaken by Hindus.
Many studies regarding the reformed movements have been conducted. These studies have examined the historical and religious importance of different movements that operate within the community. However, they have not investigated the movements from an information provision perspective. Some of these studies are: Le Roux's (1965) The Ramakrishna Movement in South Africa - a socio-religious study; and Naidoo's (1984) The Influence of the Arya Samaj on Hinduism in South Africa; SooklaPs (1988) The Ramakrishna Movement with special emphasis on the South African context since 1965; and Singh's (1986) A study of the Divine Life Society with special reference to its socio-religious implications in South Africa.
Other studies, like that of Ariyan's (1989) The contributing role of the Natal Tamil Vedic Society to Hindu cultural expression focused on the parent organisations that represent a particular language group and the activities of that organisation. This study included useful historical and political facts, and included information on other linguistic groups. Pundit Vedalankar's account of the development of the Arya Samaj movement made for interesting reading. The book: Religious awakening in South Africa: history of the Arya Samaj Movement in South Africa presented much detail on the early history of Hindus in South Africa.
Religious leaders who visited South Africa, their activities and their influence were discussed.
In their book Arya Samaj and Indians Abroad (1975), Vedalankar & Somera outline the history and the conception of the Arya Samaj. The book explored the influence of Vedic culture and religion in ancient times, the emigration of Indians to foreign lands (outside of India), the conditions under which they lived, and the problems they experienced. The study included the propagation of the Hindu religion through the Arya Samaj and its branches in South Africa, East Africa, Mauritius, Fiji and other countries to which Indians were taken as indentured labourers. An interesting feature of the text was the section on ancient Indian
exploration and ancient ideals, achievements and ties with countries such as Iran and Afghanistan.
Other studies such as those by Nowbath, Chotai and Lalla (1960). Nambi (1985), Palmer (1957), Stein (1947), and Naidoo (1986) focused on the history of the Indians in South Africa.
Reasons for their arrival, their difficulties and their survival were discussed in the above studies. Accounts of Indians, their arrival in South Africa, their contribution to South African history and the impact of politics on their lives in historical texts, biographies and educational textbooks were included in the books.
Many journals publish articles about aspects of Hinduism or about Hindu culture. Reuters (2001) article "Great Expectations: Hindu revival movements in Java" explored the Hindu revivalism in Java, which was originally a Hindu state. The paper reflected on the historical, political, cultural and social conditions of Hindus. No mention of reformed or neo-Vedanta movements was made.
Another interesting read on Hinduism was (Rinehart, 2004) Contemporary Hinduism: ritual, culture and practice. The authors have covered virtually all aspects of Hinduism: history, texts, devotion, ritual calendar, ethics, thought, caste system, and many other topics related to Hinduism. It makes a good read for those interested in the religion.
Vedanla for the West: The Ramakrishna Movement in the United States (Jackson, 1994) was all about the efforts of the Ramakrishna Movement in promoting the Hindu renaissance.
Jackson explored the role of the Ramakrishna Movement in the United States. However, the book did not examine the provision of religious and cultural information by the movement.
Whilst many journal articles relating to Muslim, Pakistani and Islamic library issues were found, the only article the researcher found relating to Hindu Library studies was one by Lisa Klopper (2004) entitled "Commercial libraries in an Indian city: an Ethnographic Sketch".
which focused on commercial, street-corner libraries in Pune, Maharashtra (India). The
"researcher explored the way these libraries functioned, and the values placed on reading by Pune's middle class library users" (Klopper, 2004, p. 104).
Reading and library services have been a part of Hindu life for a very long time. It is critical that Hindu institutions, especially the reformed Hindu organisations, remember that "the concept of free public library service in India goes back to ancient times" (Nair, 1991. p. 68) when kings or temples had their collections of literature in a variety of ancient manuscripts.
Researchers, students and religious initiates would use these collections to enhance their education (Nair. 1991. p. 68). Therefore, the concept of having libraries attached to temples is neither strange nor new to Hinduism.
There are literally thousands of books about Hinduism and Hindu practices to be read. The vast expanse of Hindu religious literature requires its own in-depth study. Research articles, media reports and Internet sites are far too numerous to be listed or be made a part of this study. Bring together the printed formats as well as the electronic formats containing religious and cultural information, available to Hindus and one ends up with more reading than any single individual could undertake in a lifetime.