Shadow Libraries - Anna's Archive, Library Genesis, Sci-Hub, Z-Library, and more

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Aug 9, 2025

Shadow libraries are online repositories or databases containing or linking to tens of millions of freely downloadable ebooks, academic papers, and other material (such as comic books and magazines). They are widely tolerated, quietly supported, or used by academics, while authors are less charitable, and academic publishers, publishers, and governments are attempting to burn them down.

Anna’s Archive (Wikipedia) + Anna’s Blog

Anna's Archive is a newcomer, launched in 2022, and probably the best and most comprehensive shadow library frontend today (it doesn't host the files). The operator(s) go by AnnaArchivist on Reddit. The site's name is likely an "anarchivist" pun. After Anna's Archive scraped the WorldCat database and offered it for free, OCLC, Inc. sued and faildoxed "Anna" as Seattle archivist, librarian, and software engineer Maria Dolores A. Matienzo. Matienzo has since been dropped from the lawsuit.

July 16, 2024: The critical window of shadow libraries (archive)

The lost cannot be recovered; but let us save what remains: not by vaults and locks which fence them from the public eye and use, in consigning them to the waste of time, but by such a multiplication of copies, as shall place them beyond the reach of accident.
— Thomas Jefferson, 1791

Overall it’s not unrealistic to expect at least a 5-10x reduction in total file size [using OCR], perhaps even more. Even with a conservative 5x reduction, we’d be looking at $1,000–$3,000 in 10 years even if our library triples in size.

Critical window
If these forecasts are accurate, we just need to wait a couple of years before our entire collection will be widely mirrored. Thus, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, “placed beyond the reach of accident.”

Library Genesis

The original site is inactive as of 2025. Notably, Meta/Facebook is being sued over its use of materials downloaded from LibGen being used to train its LLaMA large language models. A "Library Genesis+" has appeared to take up the site's mantle.

Z-Library (Wikipedia)

Two alleged Z-Library operators, Anton Napolsky and Valeriia Ermakova, were approved for extradition from Argentina to the United States, but they escaped custody and are currently on the run.

Sci-Hub (Wikipedia)

Sci-Hub was founded by Alexandra Elbakyan, "Science's Pirate Queen".

SLUM: The Shadow Library Uptime Monitor

SLUM tracks the uptime of several shadow libraries. That's all it does, but it has just been targeted by a subpoena. So I figured it was time to finally make this thread.

August 9, 2025: Publishing Giants Escalate War on ‘Shadow Libraries’ With Broad Cloudflare Subpoena (archive)

Major academic publishers, including Elsevier and Springer Nature, are trying to unmask the operators of several shadow libraries including Anna’s Archive, Z-Library and Libgen. They're also targeting SLUM, a third-party uptime monitor for these unofficial libraries. A DMCA subpoena, issued by a D.C. federal court, requires Cloudflare to hand over identifying user data for possible legal action.

Slav Power · Aug 9, 2025

God bless Alexandra.

R00T · Aug 9, 2025

Libgen covered me so much in college. it's a tough line to walk, but content in the realm of academia should be free to access for knowledge's sake and the pursuit of understanding alone. The fact it is restricted so heavily does so much damage to you middle and lower classes. I get there has to be some money in it, but maybe that should be reflected in funding rather than bucking the cost onto the individual.

Unarmed Gunman · Aug 9, 2025

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye said:
SLUM: The Shadow Library Uptime Monitor

SLUM tracks the uptime of several shadow libraries. That's all it does, but it has just been targeted by a subpoena. So I figured it was time to finally make this thread.

It would suck for this to go down. I'm curious though, why can't these archives be run off .TLD's like .st, .su or others which seem to be more immune to these shut down actions?

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Aug 9, 2025

Unarmed Gunman said:
It would suck for this to go down. I'm curious though, why can't these archives be run off .TLD's like .st, .su or others which seem to be more immune to these shut down actions?

Some of these have better luck than others. Z-Library in particular had hundreds of domains seized. Anna's Archive maybe only one? It doesn't host files but it has direct/indirect links, torrent magnets, etc. I don't think SLUM is going to have the domain seized, but the forces of evil want to identify the owner with a subpoena. Which is nutty because it is just linking to these sites, like Wikipedia does. Maybe Cloudflare will refuse that one but cough up the rest.

Holden Monaro GTS 350 · Aug 10, 2025

Annas Archive should mirror its torrents to i2p network. Soon, it will be outlawed to seed and leech these torrents. Clearnet torrents are traceable, while i2p torrents are *un*traceable.

Jang Joo · Aug 11, 2025

These websites are the true modern libraries, the modern harbingers of knowledge and history.
Anyone who would try to take them down spits on the face of humanity itself, spits on their own face. There aren't a lot of people out there that I hate more and have total and utter disdain for. Kill publishers. Behead publishers, etc etc
TPD

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Aug 14, 2025

TorrentFreak: Pirate Library Operator Arrested, Study Canceled For 330K Members (archive)

Launched in July 2023, Yubin Archive's popularity stemmed from its mission to "eliminate educational inequality" by providing copies of educational material to less well-off students in South Korea. Operating via Telegram, Yubin Archive had grown to over 330,000 members when its operator was arrested on Tuesday. The Ministry of Culture and Sport says others involved will be tracked down and given lessons in copyright law.

Early 2024, Yubin Archive had already amassed over 140,000 members, mostly students and of all ages. Stories of how the unofficial library had saved the day in various ways began to appear in the media. Queues to scan textbooks and have them printed onto paper were dramatically cut. Starting out with a digital copy rather than a loaned physical book yet to be scanned, let alone printed, became a thing of the past.

The following notice appeared on Yubin Archive on August 11.

Copyright Crime Investigators search Yubin Archive operator’s home

Belisarius Cawl · Aug 14, 2025

Jang Joo said:
These websites are the true modern libraries, the modern harbingers of knowledge and history.
Anyone who would try to take them down spits on the face of humanity itself, spits on their own face. There aren't a lot of people out there that I hate more and have total and utter disdain for. Kill publishers. Behead publishers, etc etc
TPD

All Elsevier executives will be killed in various ways, including stabbing execs with sharp knives, frying execs in hot oil, peeling execs with potato peelers, turning execs into a stew, boiling execs, dicing execs, and burning execs to a crisp

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Aug 16, 2025

TorrentFreak: Why a Court Order to Block Internet Archive’s Open Library Was Put On Hold (archive)

Site-blocking orders are usually binary; a court issues an order for a domain to be blocked, or it does not. In Belgium, things work differently. After we reported on a court order that compelled ISPs to block access to the Internet Archive's Open Library, a follow-up implementation order decided otherwise. Rightsholders, the authorities, and the Archive are now discussing how to move forward.

The article is a follow-up to this from 2 weeks ago:

TorrentFreak: Belgium Targets Internet Archive’s ‘Open Library’ in Sweeping Site Blocking Order (archive)

The Business Court in Brussels, Belgium, has issued a broad site-blocking order that aims to restrict access to shadow libraries including Anna's Archive, Libgen, OceanofPDF, Z-Library, and the Internet Archive's Open Library. In addition to ISP blocks, the order also directs search engines, DNS resolvers, advertisers, domain name services, CDNs and hosting companies to take action. For now, Open Library doesn't appear to be actively blocked.

Ferryman · Aug 20, 2025

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye said:
TorrentFreak: Why a Court Order to Block Internet Archive’s Open Library Was Put On Hold (archive)

The article is a follow-up to this from 2 weeks ago:

TorrentFreak: Belgium Targets Internet Archive’s ‘Open Library’ in Sweeping Site Blocking Order (archive)

Rofl these fags really are getting cocky with the censorship pushes, aren't they? Pardon me if I'm mistaken, but doesn't TorrentFreak have an onion mirror? No doubt it will impact usability having to TOR route, but look on the bright side, if it forces people to learn how to overcome draconian lawfare, that's a W in my book.

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Aug 20, 2025

Ferryman said:
Pardon me if I'm mistaken, but doesn't TorrentFreak have an onion mirror? No doubt it will impact usability having to TOR route, but look on the bright side, if it forces people to learn how to overcome draconian lawfare, thatw's a W in my book.

I looked around but I don't see one.

TorrentFreak has faced both accidental and intentional censorship in the past, but accessing it even under the most dire circumstances should only require a VPN, or a Tor browser which can automatically find a path to blocked clearnet sites. Maybe I'll just ask Ernesto if he has plans to make a .onion available.

Anna's Blog: An update from the team (archive) - 2025-08-17.

This private information is unavailable to guests due to policies enforced by third-parties.

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Aug 26, 2025

TorrentFreak: Sci-Hub Blocked in India, Founder Tells Plaintiffs to Expect Disappointment (archive)

A 2020 lawsuit filed by publishers at the High Court in Delhi targeted the infamous shadow library, Sci-Hub. The aim was to have the site blocked by ISPs, which triggered a strong response from academics, scientists, teachers and students, who argued that free access to knowledge is vital in India. Close to five years later, the Court has sided with the publishers. Sci-Hub's founder informed them via email that the results of blocking may be disappointing.

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Sep 13, 2025

Some neat stats that are now at the top of Anna's Archive, and a new blog post:

Worldcat editions and holdings release (archive)

TL;DR: we are releasing editions and holdings data for tens of millions of WorldCat metadata records, representing nearly all ISBNs recorded at WorldCat. This release includes data on ~20M books that we believe to be held in a small number of institutions around the world and not yet in Anna’s Archive.

We now have our TODO list of rare books to archive and ensure they are preserved for eternity. This release is available as a torrent.

Yandex Captcha Solver · Sep 13, 2025

Sci-Hub has been a God-send when doing personal research for projects and/or various data.

It blows my mind that we have government funded studies, performed by public universities, and I need to spend $100 to view a 10 page study (that may end up providing no useful information).

Fresh Meat · Sep 16, 2025

Rest in Peace, Aaron Swartz

1986-2013
killed himself cause the government got mad over PDF scraping

Froggy Fresh Sextape · Sep 17, 2025

Yandex Captcha Solver said:
It blows my mind that we have government funded studies, performed by public universities, and I need to spend $100 to view a 10 page study (that may end up providing no useful information).

Hmm well here's a free access paper you might enjoy

Pay with your tax dollars and then pay again

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Sep 21, 2025

TorrentFreak: I Came, I Typed, I Downloaded – How a Pirate Librarian Became an FBI Target (archive)

Story of Bookfi/BookFinder, the predecessor of Z-Library.

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye · Oct 8, 2025

TorrentFreak: Internet Archive Ordered to Block Books in Belgium After Talks With Publishers Fail (archive)

After initially avoiding external blocking measures, the Internet Archive must block access to various books in its Open Library project under the orders of a Belgian government department. While the final decision avoids a full site blockade, it forces the U.S. non-profit to implement country-specific censorship or face a €500,000 penalty, raising questions about the use of anti-piracy frameworks to settle complex copyright disputes.

Breathe in, relax, and exhale, releasing your copyright burden and becoming an illicit copywrong-ignoring entity. Oh, you can't.

Garnet123 · Oct 8, 2025

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye said:
TorrentFreak: Internet Archive Ordered to Block Books in Belgium After Talks With Publishers Fail (archive)

Breathe in, relax, and exhale, releasing your copyright burden and becoming an illicit copywrong-ignoring entity. Oh, you can't.

They may do a Project Gutenberg and block access to the entire site for Belgian IPs, like PG has done for Germany. It sucks.

Shadow Libraries - Anna's Archive, Library Genesis, Sci-Hub, Z-Library, and more

The Mass Shooter Ron Soye

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Shadow Libraries - Anna's Archive, Library Genesis, Sci-Hub, Z-Library, and more

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