Despite that, its database was mirrored by archivists in 2022.

Notably, Z-Library does not open its full database to the public. Unlike Library Genesis and Sci-Hub, not much is known about Z-Library in terms of its operation, management, commercial status and mission statement. The website was banned in India in 2022, following a court order from the Tis Hazari district court, after a plaint which stated that the copyrights of ten books were being violated by Z-Library. , and were included in the 2017 Office of the United States Trade Representative report on notorious markets. In late 2015, publisher Elsevier filed a successful court request that ordered the registrar of to seize the site's internet domain. In mid-2015, The Publishers Association, a UK organization, has attempted to enact internet service provider-level blocks on Z-Library. The footer in the project's pages contains the phrase 'Free ebooks since 2009.'

Z-Library also describes itself as a non-profit organization sustained by donations. As of 1 October 2022, Z-lib states that it possesses more than 11,291,325 books and 84,837,643 articles. According to the project's page for academic articles (at ), it claims to be 'the world's largest e-book library', as well as 'the world's largest scientific articles store'. Individuals can also contribute to the website's repository to make literature accessible to as many people as possible. Most of its books are from Library Genesis while some of them are uploaded directly to its site by individuals. Z-Library (abbreviated as z-lib, formerly BookFinder) is a mirror of Library Genesis, a shadow library project for file-sharing access to scholarly journal articles, academic texts and general-interest books.

Z library website