Z-Library is back with a new domain name – Good e-Reader

“Z-Library is back, unveiling its rejuvenated presence with a new domain….This marks a distinctive chapter for the platform, emphasizing its resilience and adaptability as it navigates the ever-evolving online sphere. Also, Z-Library’s choice of a new domain is not a novel occurrence; it mirrors a pattern of renewal after periods of hiatus. However, with each reappearance, Z-Library emerges with renewed vigor, solidifying its commitment to providing a wealth of knowledge freely accessible to users worldwide.

The return of Z-Library carries notable positives, offering users an extensive array of resources spanning genres, languages, and academic disciplines. The user-friendly interface remains intact, ensuring easy navigation, swift searches, and efficient downloads, catering to the diverse needs of students and researchers. Crucially, the platform retains its open-access philosophy, welcoming users without subscription fees or mandatory registrations. The emphasis on privacy and security ensures that users can freely explore the platform without compromising personal information.

Yet, amidst the positive attributes, it’s essential to acknowledge the legal considerations associated with Z-Library. While it provides a rich repository of resources, the legality of certain materials may pose copyright concerns. Users are urged to exercise caution, adhering to copyright laws, and respecting the intellectual property rights of authors and publishers. As Z-Library embarks on this new chapter with z-lib.io, users are encouraged to navigate the platform responsibly, ensuring a harmonious coexistence with legal and ethical standards.

Update: Readers are hereby warned against accessing the site mentioned in the article which happens to be a scam. The correct and genuine site is https://zlibrary-global.se/ .”

Sci-Hub presents a paradox for open access publishing | Impact of Social Sciences

Sci-Hub has provided a popular, if illicit, access route to much of the scientific record. However, as Abdelghani Maddi discusses its relationship to genuine open access publication is problematic.

 

Dobusch & Heimstädt (2023) The structural transformation of the scientific public sphere: Constitution and consequences of the path towards open access

Dobusch, L., & Heimstädt, M. (2023). The structural transformation of the scientific public sphere: Constitution and consequences of the path towards open access. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01914537231203558

Abstract

We are currently witnessing a fundamental structural transformation of the scientific public sphere, characterized by processes of specialization, metrification, internationalization, platformization and visibilization. In contrast to explanations of this structural transformation that invoke a technological determinism, we demonstrate its historical contingency by drawing on analytic concepts from organization theory and the case of the Open Access transformation in Germany. The digitization of academic journals has not broadened access to scientific output but narrowed it down even further in the course of the ‘serials crisis’. For a long time, research institutions were not able to convince large academic publishers to adopt less restrictive forms of access to academic journals. It was only through the emergence of new and in part illegal actors (shadow libraries and preprint servers) that the existing path could be broken, and an Open Access path constituted. Following this analysis, we discuss consequences of the Open Access transformation for the public spheres of science and democracy. We conclude that Open Access publishing can only help to transform both communicative spaces towards the normative ideal of a public sphere when complemented by systematic support for non-profit publication infrastructures.

Anna’s Archive Scraped WorldCat to Help Preserve ‘All’ Books in the World * TorrentFreak

“Anna’s Archive scraped WorldCat, the world’s largest library catalog, in an effort to help preserve digital copies of every book in the world. The meta search engine is well aware of the legal risks but believes that these are well worth taking to preserve the written legacy of humanity. In addition, the archive’s database has gained interest from AI developers and LLM teams too….”

The Bookseller – News – Academic publishers file copyright suit against LibGen citing ‘staggering’ infringement

“Five textbook publishers have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against pirate site Library Genesis (LibGen) seeking for the operation to be shut down and the site’s domain names blocked.

LibGen is a pirate website that gives users free access to copyrighted works such as academic journal articles that would otherwise be paywalled or not digitised elsewhere. According to the complaint, the site attracts in excess of nine million visitors per month on average from the US alone. Its operators are anonymous….”

“Most notorious” illegal shadow library sued by textbook publishers [Updated] | Ars Technica

“Yesterday, some of the biggest textbook publishers sued Library Genesis, an illegal shadow library that publishers accused of “extensive violations of federal copyright law.”

Publishers suing include Cengage Learning, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill, and Pearson Education. They claimed that Library Genesis (aka Libgen) is operated by unknown individuals based outside the United States, who know that the shadow library is “one of the largest, most notorious, and far-reaching infringement operations in the world” and intentionally violate copyright laws with “absolutely no legal justification for what they do.”

According to publishers, Libgen offers free downloads for over 20,000 books that the publishers never authorized Libgen to distribute. They claimed that Libgen is “a massive piracy effort” and noted that their complaint may be updated if more infringed works are found. This vast infringement is causing publishers and authors serious financial and creative harm, publishers alleged….

 

 

This is not the first lawsuit to go after Libgen, and if history repeats, it likely won’t be the last. TorrentFreak reported that after the publisher Elsevier sued Libgen in 2015, a court ordered Libgen to shut down. But after briefly disappearing, Libgen popped back up and has been online ever since, operating in defiance of that order—as well as court orders “in several countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom,” publishers’ complaint filed yesterday said. Those countries even tried ordering “Internet service providers to block access to Libgen Sites as a result of infringement actions,” publishers said, all seemingly to no avail….”

Sci-Hub’s Alexandra Elbakyan Receives EFF Award for Providing Access to Scientific Knowledge | TorrentFreak

The Electronic Frontier Foundation will award Alexandra Elbakyan, founder of the ‘pirate’ library Sci-Hub, for her efforts to provide access to scientific knowledge. According to EFF, Elbakyan’s site is a vital resource for millions of students and researchers. Some medical professionals have even argued that the site helped to save lives.

 

Illegal access to scholarly information: considerations regarding the use of sci-hub and its constraints to academic libraries

Abstract:  This work intends to study the influence that the use of sci-hub has on academic libraries, aiming to fill the gap of the risks that sci-hub might develop in academic libraries. Its purpose is to have a view between the interconnection of the library structure and the vulnerability that this undergoes when affected by an external factor, perceiving the long-term implications that the use of this platform has on academic library services. To reach these goals, it was conducted a narrative literature review on the academic library structure, the cause of the appearance of sci-hub and the increase of its popularity. Sci-hub has a direct influence on library circulation services. So, the conclusion is, since that academic libraries are living organisms, where all of their parts communicate with one another when one of their parts is damaged, the others will be resent as well, especially in the long term.

 

Scholarly paper pirating spikes in Japan, but critics slam journals’ ‘double-take’ fees – The Mainichi

“Illicit free downloads of academic papers are skyrocketing in Japan, reaching some 7.2 million in 2022, a Mainichi Shimbun investigation has found. And while the surge casts doubt on the ethics of the scholars involved, the trend is also believed to be fueled by the relentless increase in academic journal subscription fees.

The site providing download access to paywalled journal articles is “Sci-Hub,” established in 2011 by researchers in Kazakhstan. The site can bypass those paywalls using access credentials provided by people at universities that have subscriptions to the journals. And as of June this year, Sci-Hub was giving free and open download access to over 88 million articles. The site’s activities do infringe on the journals’ copyrights, and some publishers have filed claims for damages overseas….”

High Prices Make Textbook ‘Piracy’ Acceptable to Most Students * TorrentFreak

“Through several lawsuits, Danish publishers tried to send a clear message: educating oneself through pirated textbooks is illegal. This message has thus far failed to make an impact. New research published by the Rights Alliance shows that more than half of all students find it acceptable to use pirated books. Prison threats are not much of a deterrent but they are willing to change if prices drop significantly.”

US seizes Z-Library login domain, but secret URLs for each user remain active | Ars Technica

“US authorities have seized another major Z-Library domain but still haven’t been able to wipe the pirate book site off the Internet. Z-Library claims to offer over 13 million books, up from 11 million since US authorities launched their first major operation against Z-Library late last year.

“Unfortunately, one of our primary login domains was seized today,” Z-Library wrote in a Wednesday message on its Telegram account. “Therefore, we recommend using the domain singlelogin.re to log in to your account, as well as to register. Please share this domain with others.”

In November, US authorities charged Russian nationals Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud, and money laundering for allegedly operating Z-Library. The US said at the time that it seized 250 “interrelated web domains” run by Z-Library and that Napolsky and Ermakova were arrested in Argentina at the request of the US government.

Other people continue to operate Z-Library, which remained available on the Tor network and returned to the clearnet in February with a new strategy of assigning personal, secret URLs to each user. Z-Library directed users to singlelogin.me, where they could sign in with their login credentials and receive a unique URL to access the entire pirate library….”

Z-Library Plans to Let Users Share Physical Books Through ‘Z-Points’ * TorrentFreak

“Z-Library appears to be shrugging off a criminal investigation as if nothing ever happened. The site continues to develop its shadow library and, following a successful fundraiser, now plans to expand its services to the physical book market. Z-Library envisions a book ‘sharing’ market, where its millions of users can pick up paperbacks at dedicated “Z-Points” around the globe….”

Z-Library returns, aims to avoid seizures by giving each user a secret URL | Ars Technica

“Last fall, the US Department of Justice pushed the e-book pirate site Z-Library onto the dark web after charging its alleged operators with criminal copyright infringement, wire fraud, and money laundering. Back then, Z-Library users—including many college students who relied on the site as a source for free textbooks—weren’t sure if Z-Library would be able to keep operating. That’s why this weekend, thousands of Z-Library fans rejoiced when Z-Library officially staged its comeback on public-access Internet—by launching a universal login page and setting up secret personal domains for users.

A Z-Library blog post from Saturday viewed by 21,000 users announced the “great news” and prompted users to access Z-Library using their regular login credentials at a new link. Once users log in, they’re redirected to a personal domain they can use to access close to 12 million free e-books on Z-Library without using encrypted networks like Tor. A second domain is also sent by email….”

Z-Library Returns on the Clearnet in Full Hydra-Mode * TorrentFreak

“The U.S. Government’s crackdown against Z-Library late last year aimed to wipe out the pirate library for good. The criminal prosecution caused disruption but didn’t bring the site completely to its knees. Z-Library continued to operate on the dark web and this weekend, reappeared on the clearnet, offering a ‘unique’ domain name to all users….”