Rare book vendors and sellers across Australia have grown increasingly concerned about the potential destruction of valuable texts by generative AI companies seeking source material for training data. The anxiety stems from revelations about a practice called “destructive scanning,” in which companies purchase physical books, remove the spines for efficient page scanning, then pulp the remains. This method came to light following a copyright lawsuit against AI company Anthropic in the United States, with unsealed court documents showing the company had engaged in the practice while attempting to keep it confidential. A US judge determined the approach constituted lawful “transformative use” under copyright law.
Australian secondhand booksellers have begun reporting suspicious purchasing patterns that suggest they may have been drawn into the AI supply chain. Multiple vendors confirmed receiving substantial orders from Zoom Books, a Canadian company that describes itself as a book recycler, through major secondhand marketplaces including Abebooks and Biblio. The orders appeared unusual—price-insensitive and seemingly random, featuring niche titles and decades-old stock in combinations that did not align with typical customer behavior. Some Australian retailers shipped multiple boxes overseas to fulfill these requests.
The issue has created a complex tension within the bookselling community. While some vendors with large inventories would welcome bulk sales that clear warehouse space, rare booksellers and specialists express significant concern about the loss of unique items and historically significant texts. Booksellers distinguish between mass-market copies, of which many exist, and singular or historically important volumes. Various sellers employ screening practices to prevent books from going to what they consider inappropriate destinations. Anthropic stated it sources books from mainstream commercial markets and does not purchase from Zoom Books, emphasizing it does not acquire rare or antiquarian books for destruction. Zoom Books denied engaging in destructive scanning, stating it resells books intact and does not digitize materials, though it declined to disclose customer information citing confidentiality agreements.
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