I do not know what time frame you are referring to specifically in your original question, but I can elaborate a little bit on some of the ancient Roman historians (Livy, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Polybius, etc).

While many of the Romans were "literate" (For more information on the topic of literacy, here is a good answer in another thread, by /u/Astrogator.) much of the historical writings were contracted by emperors or written with a specific goal or bias in mind. Livy wrote with the intention of enlightening the masses about the loss of morality due to Romans forgoing traditions and practices to favor the gods. For a citizen to request one Livy's "books" (read scrolls) you would have to go a book store and they would have a slave copy down the book for you which could take many months to a year. There were quite often spelling errors and many of the scrolls were also overwritten later on. There have been some efforts to read writings on scrolls that have been overwritten by looking at the indentations upon the scrolls.

Another glaring issue with Ancient Roman Historians is the sheer scope of time they cover and how far away they are in time from the period they are written. Rome was sacked by the Gauls in 390/387 BC and much of Rome's documentation before that time period was lost. So any writing of historical events done by Roman Historians were from word of mouth or speculation over the years. Likewise, because of Livy's inherent bias, you will see the gods play a much larger role in his writing than other historians. Also note that Livy was contracted by Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

Here are some of the biases or purposes inherent within Ancient Roman Author's writings:

Polybius - Greek, Was a hostage in Rome, Client to the Scipios, Wrote for a Greek audience to convince them of necessity of accepting Roman rule

Sallust - Opposes old Roman aristocracy

Plutarch - Fabricated or embellished stories to connect famous Roman and Greek lives

So while reading in Rome was not as scarce as many would think, there are problems with historical accounts of events and important people. I know this may not be what you were hoping for, especially because you did not put a time or era in your question, but if you have any follow up questions, let me know.