The document summarizes several chapters from books about the advent of printing and the rise of literacy. It discusses how the printing press standardized writing and made books more widely accessible, which helped spread literacy beyond social elites. However, television and radio later threatened literacy gains. The printing press supported Protestant reforms by disseminating texts more quickly but did not directly cause rises in literacy on its own. Literacy increased more in colonial New England where schooling was emphasized for religious reasons compared to other colonies with less education emphasis.

1. The Advent of Print and the Rise of Literacy Crowley and Heyer: Chapters 12, 13, and 14

2. The Invention of Printing The Invention of Printing by Lewis Mumford

10. The Rise of the Reading Public The Rise of the Reading Public by Elizabeth Eisenstein

19. Early Modern Literacies Early Modern Literacies by Harvey J. Graff

25. Literacy in Colonial North America