In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, books functioning specifically as vehicles for literary texts acquired a more widespread distribution and usage than in any previous time. A book usually reflects the conventions of its time regarding book production. Construction of a roll was simply a matter of getting a continuous length of writing material sufficient for the intended text. In the wider book culture of the third century there appears to have been a slow growth in usage of the codex, but it remained very small in comparison to the general preference for the literary roll. Emerging clearly from the ancient evidence is the fact that the vast majority of copying and dissemination of books was done through private channels of friendship. The easiest manner in which to acquire a known text was through a friend or acquaintance who had a copy in his private library.