Used bookellers in Devon report receiving large orders from technology firms to obtain second-hand books that the firms then digitize. A retailer at Compass Books in Dartmouth says an order placed earlier this summer involved thousands of volumes across a range of topics. The books are reportedly processed for scanning and then disposed of afterward, leading to concern about what happens to physical copies after digitization.
Outlets describe the same basic process—bulk purchasing of used books, digitization, and subsequent destruction—but differ in emphasis. One outlet frames the practice as a form of modern “book burning,” highlighting the removal of physical spines and the end-of-life treatment of the paper copies. Other reporting in the story focuses more on the digitization workflow and the scale of the orders, rather than on the moral or symbolic implications of destroying books. Across accounts, the central points remain that used books are acquired in bulk for scanning and that physical copies are not preserved afterward.
