Did the public ever read published papers until recently? I can’t imagine most people having access to any publications until the Internet and late 90s at minim

Did the public ever read published papers until recently? I can’t imagine most people having access to any publications until the Internet and late 90s at minimum. My local library did not exactly have access to journals either. I don’t think scientific literacy has ever been high. Society relied on other publications and the government to interpret the information for us. For better or worse.