In the 15th century the printing press was the new technology. The first ever information revolution began with the advent of the printed book, enabling Renaissance scholars to formulate new ways of organizing and disseminating knowledge. As early as 1500 there were already 20 million books in circulation in Europe. How did this rapid explosion of ideas impact upon the evolution of new disciplines? This work looks at the development of new methods of information storage and retrieval which took place at the very beginning of print culture. And it asks some crucial questions about the...

In the 15th century the printing press was the new technology. The first ever information revolution began with the advent of the printed book, enabling Renaissance scholars to formulate new ways of organizing and disseminating knowledge. As early as 1500 there were already 20 million books in circulation in Europe. How did this rapid explosion of ideas impact upon the evolution of new disciplines? This work looks at the development of new methods of information storage and retrieval which took place at the very beginning of print culture. And it asks some crucial questions about the...