My sources and an independent investigation have uncovered a troubling practice: at one Amazon facility in Las Vegas, printed books are being mass-destroyed, including rare and valuable editions. This is not about recycling waste paper, but about systematic digitization, after which the physical medium cannot be restored.
How the scheme was uncovered
The starting point was anomalous orders from used-book sellers. Sellers recorded wholesale purchases of hundreds of books on a wide range of topics and publication years, with priority given to rare copies. In July, one store received an order for about a thousand books through the Biblio platform from an anonymous buyer.
I managed to trace the path of this batch. A GPS tracker was embedded in one of the editions, and the data showed that the package arrived at an Amazon facility in North Las Vegas, where the VGT3 unit is stationed. This is a specialized hub for processing printed materials.
The technology of barbaric digitization
Analysis of employee posts and interviews with staff allowed us to reconstruct the full picture. First, books are registered, and their barcodes and ISBNs are scanned. Then, bindings are cut off the editions—this is done to separate the volumes into individual sheets. After that, the pages are fed into high-speed scanners. This conveyor-belt method radically speeds up the process but makes physical restoration of the book impossible.
One worker confirmed that scanning is the main function of the unit. Others described a clear chain: receiving batches, accounting, cutting, and subsequent digitization. Evidence of supply disruptions in early 2026 was also found, when the site temporarily ran out of books to process.
The corporation's position
Notably, Amazon has never publicly announced this operation. In response to a request, the corporation confirmed the fact of purchasing printed editions through commercial channels, stating that they are used for "the development and improvement of products and services." However, the volume of purchases, the program's timeline, and the specific products for which the data is intended remain classified.
My comment: This situation exposes the ethical dilemma of the AI industry. The thirst for quality data pushes corporations to destroy cultural heritage that cannot be reproduced. While companies compete for leadership in LLMs, we risk losing what has not been digitized—and this is an irreversible loss for all of humanity, not just for collectors.