September 2023 – Page 99 – news.buyenne.com

zlib With more than 14 million digital books in its archive, Z-Library is one of the largest shadow libraries on the Internet.

What stands out even more is that the site continues to thrive; even though two of its alleged operators were arrested as part of a criminal crackdown by the United States.

These two defendants, both Russians, are currently fighting a heated extradition battle. While their involvement with Z-Library is apparent to U.S. law enforcement, they don’t appear to be crucial to the operation, since Z-Library continues to thrive.

Over the past several months, the digital library has rolled out a variety of new features. Some of these aim to make future enforcement less effective, while others focus on improving the service to users. The ultimate goal is to become a universal sharing hub for written knowledge.

Sharing Paper Books

Thus far, these endeavors were all in the digital realm. Z-Library offers ebooks and articles that can be instantly downloaded, from all over the world. However, a few months ago the site planned to go even further, by helping users to share physical copies with each other.

“Books you have read should not gather dust on your shelf – instead, they can get a second life in the hands of new readers! This helps to preserve the literary heritage and spread the knowledge and ideas contained in books to more people,” they wrote.

This is an interesting move from the site. Sharing a paper book with someone is something entirely different than offering pirated book copies online, from a legal perspective at least. But for Z-Library it all ultimately boils down to sharing stories and encouraging reading.

Z-Points in 11 Countries

A few days ago, Z-Library’s first physical libraries, known as “Z-Points”, went live. These initial locations are limited to 11 countries, including the U.S., China, and South Sudan, covering all inhabited continents.

This is just the initial phase of the project and more locations and Z-Points are expected to be added in the future.

“This project has grown beyond our initial concept of a simple book exchange and has evolved into a global library of paper books. Our ultimate goal is to connect readers worldwide and make literature accessible to everyone, regardless of location or financial constraints,” Z-Library writes.

During the first phase, Z-Library focuses on building its paper book collection. If people have books they no longer use, they can send them to the Z-Points for further processing. That includes making digital copies, if legally possible.

“There, we carefully store books, digitize them (if the laws of a particular country allow), and then send them to users and educational institutions in need,” the team explains to interested users.

Next: Direct Sharing

Later on, Z-Library also plans to add an interface where users can list their available paper books, to facilitate direct sharing between users, without the need to go through a Z-Point.

This book-sharing project is not entirely unique, of course. In many countries, there are existing free libraries that collect and donate books in local communities. Some of these are organized and promoted through the “Little Free Library” project.

By keeping track of the available books online, Z-Library adds an interesting element. At the same time, however, there’s also a major downside, as the sender will have to pay shipping costs.

And then there are the legal concerns. While sharing a legally purchased book with someone else isn’t a crime, Z-Library’s digital library is seen as a criminal operation by the U.S. Government, which some people may not want to be associated with.

Concerns or not, the operators of the site are steadfast in their belief that they are doing the right thing.

“We believe that books are not just pages and ink, they are portals to different worlds, ideas, and perspectives. By sharing our books, we share our knowledge, our stories, and our hearts. We invite you to join us in this venture to support a culture of reading around the world,” the team concludes.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.