I do seem to recall a zip that was available with the books in it. On the original Kobo when it was released, kePub files were stored within the database itself, and it wasn't until an upgrade that kEpubs were stored as separate files.
Some people felt that the quality of the free books was lower than those that had been made available here in the
Patricia Clark Memorial Library.
I will look around my hard drive and see if I can find that old archive.