The replacement of printed text : alternative media forms from the 1940's to the 1980's

• Main Author: Duffy, Andy
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap / Bibliotekshögskolan 2000
• Subjects: media studies; book history; Social Sciences; Samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-18327

The purpose of this thesis is to examine alternative forms of media developed in the USA between the 1940's and 1980's, which were proposed in order to come to terms with the faults associated with printed text and the paper medium. The examination is concentrated on relevant literature on the media and not the actual media themselves. The questions asked were:1. Why were alternative forms of media presented for replacing printed text and what were the aims of those wanting to replace it?2. What were these alternative forms of media and how did they compare with printed text with regard to storing and disseminating text? The study concentrates on two aspects of the different media: their ability to store and disseminate text. Due to the increasing amount of scientific research results in the form of printed text the research community experienced growing problems with text dissemination and recall. These problems caused delays in research procedures hampering scientific development. Due to the increasing importance of scientific research, not least its role in international conflicts, a solution to these problems was regarded as being of the utmost importance. The reasons behind wanting to replace printed text were to alleviate problems of distribution, recall and storage. Alternative media were developed with the hope of coming to terms with one or more of these problems. The study has found that media development has partly solved these problems but that new or different media are not completely problem free. === Uppsatsnivå: D