The pre-Internet library situation in the USA was better than most of the world, so needs to be considered separately. American state university libraries were

The pre-Internet library situation in the USA was better than most of the world, so needs to be considered separately. American state university libraries were open to the public and (usually?) had open stacks. The accessibility of these facilities has become increasingly restricted over the past 25 years. At my school, stacks are still open but get fewer new volumes, and most reference tools are electronic and require a school ID to access. Internationally, access to information has vastly improved. I remember when visiting scholars from 3rd world countries would spend most of their free time photocopying things from the library to take back home.