Computers have already taken a major role as an information resource today. Computer technologies such as hypertext and the Internet remove the geographical constrains of print media and allow for a new method of distributing and reading documents. Books will always be affordable, concrete sources of information, but the next ten years will bring computers that are faster to access, as convenient to use, and that hold more information than books. One of the most important advantages of the computer over print media is hypertext.
Hypertext binds related documents together on a computer or network.
With hypertext, highlighted text in a document represents a reference to another document. When the reader selects highlighted words with his mouse, the computer displays the referenced document. When the concept of hypertext is applied to the Internet, the reader is still following his interests, but on a global computer network. Researchers will benefit from networked hypertext, as they must often travel to distant libraries for information. With the Internet, one piece of information is accessible from millions of computers around the world.