Well I was alive before the internet so my experience should help.

Every public library held volumes of the laws passed by Congress/Parliament. These were always slightly out of date although most laws remained unchanged.

The statute books were also bought and held by every law firm, local council, some hospitals, government departments etc. Every year they would be updated with annotations of amendments and repeals.

On top of that Congess/Parliament published each new statute/law as it was passed and the above groups bought those individual documents. If they hadn't they would never be up to date.

In my experience legislation only became available online in 2002. So most of my life was dealing with books. Indeed there is a downside to online access in that you can't easily flip back and forth a few pages. Often there will be a section you were unaware of which helps. Online is good but it is like looking into a tunnel.

Edit: if we go back 200 years, many people only had rudimentary reading and writing skills. The laws were written on strong paper and not many copies were made. Books were expensive.

In those days the people who read and understood the law were lawyers, political representatives, teachers, and church leaders. In a village the minister or priest was often the most educated person.

In earlier times the laws were hand written on velum, goatskin, or parchment. I have handled many land deeds from the 19th century like this. There are tens of thousands of volumes in Europe and Britain today going back to the 12th century. They aren't just about laws, they encompass formal records, maps, historical events etc etc. People have to use acid-free gloves to handle them.