Sci-Hub is a
shadow library that provides free access to millions of
research papers,
regardless of copyright, by bypassing publishers'
paywalls in various ways. Unlike
Library Genesis, it does not provide access to books. Sci-Hub was founded in
Kazakhstan by
Alexandra Elbakyan in 2011, in response to the
rising costs of research papers behind paywalls. The site is extensively used worldwide. In September 2019, the site's operator(s) said that it served approximately 400,000 requests per day.
In addition to its intensive use, Sci-Hub stands out among other shadow libraries because of its easy use/reliability and because of the enormous size of its collection; a 2018 study estimated that Sci-Hub provided access to most of the scholarly publications with issued
DOI numbers. On 15 July 2022, Sci-Hub reported that its collection comprised 88,343,822 files. Since December 2020, the site has paused uploads due to
legal troubles. (
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