Photocopy
Xerography is a technique invented in 1937 which have had enormous importance for gaining access to documents. Before that other techniques had been used (cf., Wikipedia, 2006b).
Prior to photocopies was the mimeograph machine (mimeo) or stencil duplicator a popular tool, cf. Wikipedia (2006a). It was not, however, capable of photocopying a document, as a special stencil had to be prepared by hand.
Danyi (2006) considers photocopy machines a metaphor for an "open society".
Literature:
Danyi, E. (2006). Xerox project:
Photocopy machines as a metaphor for an "open society". Information Society,
22(2), 111-115.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2006a). Mimeograph machine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph_machine
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2006b). Photocopying.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photocopying
See also: Facsimile
Birger Hjørland
Last edited: 11-05-2006