The Internet Archive has long wanted to be the “Library of Alexandria” for the 21st century – a place to gather as much information as possible. Thanks to the internet, not only will this dream be fireproof, but it won’t have restrictions associated with the actual location. Any knowledge is available to anyone, anywhere in the world, as long as there is an internet connection.

Since 2006, the non-profit organization has been digitizing books, also with the help of libraries, to ensure that some of the main sources of global knowledge do not disappear and remain accessible to anyone. In 2011, I decided to start distributing digital books. The concept of the digital library has been consolidated: users Digital copies can be requested Many works, during a limited time, also take place in a library between four walls. And just like in the physical world, the book can only be lent to one person at a time.

In 2020, when the world shut down due to the pandemic, millions of books became inaccessible as libraries closed. That year, the Internet Archive equipped itself with a sense of urgency to allow digital copies to circulate to more people. The idea of ​​one book per person collapsed, and the Internet Archive argued that this was an exceptional situation.

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