Each step made the processes more automated and quicker. From the postal system to the telex, to the fax and now email. The telephone on the desk to the telephone in the pocket, and more recently the introduction of the video-conference. One of the evolutionary developments that has posed an earlier threat was the advent of inexpensive, quality photocopying. It has had a negative impact on copyright publishing.
Illegal copying is still a major drain on the resources of publishers.
However it is important to note that in many areas the chosen method of combating this problem has been to introduce licences that authorises the copying and re-establishes the copyright holder rights. Space as well as cash constraints are pertinent here. As less of the published material is acquired for the users, then the unit cost of the information increases, meaning even fewer institutions can afford to acquire all they need or want. The, at first ad hoc, and now systematic use of ILL and Document Delivery has developed in the last ten years or so to try and alleviate this problem, to some benefit for the library systems and its users. There are those who still believe that the future lies down this path.