How did people get their academic doubts cleared before the internet era?

Question

I’m currently reading “Madness & Civilization” by Michel Foucault and there are several paragraphs here that completely elude my intellect and absolutely require the internet for me to fully grasp it. This got me thinking, how did the poor souls from the 60s cope up with books like these? How did the freaks who read these books for fun get their doubts cleared?

In: Technology

Answer 1

In addition to the other answers, a set of A-Z encyclopaedias was common in houses pre internet. I still remember them being cracked out the odd time to answer questions when I was a kid.