Secondhand book sales are booming, leaving booksellers scratching their heads. Bulk orders are rolling in. Even independent bookstores like Barter Books in Northumberland see big jumps,one Canadian order matching a week's sales.
Stuart Manley,co-owner of Barter Books, is shocked by sales surge. In 30 years,he's never seen anything like it. Worldwide, booksellers share the same uncertainty. Where are these books going? Many suspect they're destined for artificial intelligence (AI) training.
The link between this market boom and AI dates back to a crucial U.S. court decision. In 2025,a judge ruled that using purchased books for AI training didn't violate copyright laws. This came from a lawsuit involving AI firm Anthropic, where Judge William Alsup said the company's use of authors' works was "transformative."
Revelations from court documents add to the worry — books are being destroyed during AI training. Anthropic's chatbot,Claude, uses a mix of public data and bought datasets. A spokesperson confirmed books are common training sources but denied destroying rare books .
The idea of pulping books unsettles many in the literary world. David Tobin, of Walden Books in north London,feels torn. Sales are up,but the thought of these books being destroyed is sad .
Court documents reveal Anthropic's "Project Panama," aiming to "destructively scan all the books in the world." This involves removing spines for fast scanning,then recycling what's left. Manley finds Project Panama mysterious. He's unsure if his books are involved, but the erratic sales pattern is suspicious .
Experts note the wide range of books ordered—from obscure Latin texts to cowboy novels—suggests plan to boost AI training. Professor Emily Hudson from Oxford University points to differences in copyright laws between UK and US. In the UK, permission is usually needed for training.
A moral dilemma faces booksellers. Destroying books feels wrong,though not all are equally valuable. Derek Walker of McNaughtan's in Edinburgh says some rare texts are irreplaceable, while others might not be worth saving. Losing a recent academic text might not be as bad as an 18th-century edition.
Manley suggests recycling books that no longer serve the public . Ethical concerns linger,but many popular titles,like The Da Vinci Code,aren't needed anymore. Books sitting unsold for years now find buyers in this demand surge.
As the secondhand book market shifts, the impact of AI's hunger for data keeps booksellers and literary fans talking. What will happen next…
