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0 pointsmik19981y ago0 comments

No one sells scans of older books, which are often sparsely available in obscure (often private) libraries.

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Sure, but I have a strong feeling that scans of out-of-print books only constitute a small portion of LibGen’s traffic.

It’s like the idea that most BitTorrent users are just using it to share free software and Creative Commons media. (See the screenshots on every BitTorrent client’s website.) It would definitely be helpful if it were true, but everyone knows it’s just wishful thinking.

crazygringo1y ago

Why does the proportion matter?

Academics are huge users of LibGen for academic books from the entire past century and beyond. It's infinitely more convenient to instantly get a PDF you can highlight, than wait weeks for some interlibrary loan from an institution three states away.

Just because the majority of people might be downloading Harry Potter is irrelevant.

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rafram1y ago

Sure, but I have a strong feeling that scans of out-of-print books only constitute a small portion of LibGen’s traffic.

crazygringo1y ago

Why does the proportion matter?

Just because the majority of people might be downloading Harry Potter is irrelevant.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse