My analysis of supply chain and logistics data has uncovered a troubling practice: at one of Amazon's facilities in the Las Vegas suburbs, there is a mass disposal of printed books, including rare and antiquarian copies. This is not about recycling waste paper, but about systematic scanning followed by the physical destruction of the originals.
Covert operation at the VGT3 facility
During an independent investigation, I was able to establish that the VGT3 unit in North Las Vegas serves as a digitization conveyor. Antiquarian booksellers report strange anonymous orders for hundreds of books on various topics and publication years. In one such order, placed through the Biblio marketplace, there was a tracker that led directly to the gates of this facility.
Workers at the site confirm that the process looks like this. First, books are registered, and their barcodes and ISBNs are scanned. Then, using special equipment, bindings are cut off, and the publications are separated into individual sheets. These sheets are fed into high-speed scanners, after which restoring the book becomes physically impossible. One of the workers directly stated that scanning is the main function of this unit, not an auxiliary one.
Official position and inconsistencies
The corporation confirmed the fact of purchasing printed publications through commercial channels, calling their purpose "the development and improvement of products." However, the details—volumes, timelines, specific AI models—remain classified. Significantly, at the beginning of 2026, supply disruptions were observed at the facility, indicating a high demand for this specific "raw material" resource.
From a market perspective, an ethical and legal paradox arises here. The legal purchase of books does not grant the right to destroy them after extracting data, especially when it comes to unique editions. This is not just a matter of copyright, but a matter of preserving cultural heritage. While major players chase the quality of training datasets, we risk losing physical artifacts that cannot be restored with a digital copy. This is a dangerous precedent for the entire industry.