this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2026
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321
‘More than just objects’: Australian booksellers raise alarm over ‘horrific’ destruction of rare titles to feed AI (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 2 days ago by sanitation@lemmy.today to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Delfina Manor, who runs Good Reading Secondhand Books in Benalla, Victoria, said she received orders from Zoom Books in May amounting to three full boxes, but had to write to the company and ask them not to order in such volume again.

“They ordered, paid in advance, and they didn’t quibble over the postage … [but] it would have been about 30 to 40 books, and so finding them, packing them, making sure you hadn’t missed one out … It was just driving me nuts,” Manor said.

Wut. ~~Are you a business or a hobby?~~ Actually, even most hobbyists I know are more detail oriented than that.

[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 5 points 2 days ago

A hobby, apparently, and one she isn't very serious about, since one local used book store is quite happy to put together 6-8 banker's boxes of books for my family a couple of times a year and then hold them for pickup. (Needless to say, we don't destroy them to feed to AI.) Even if you don't keep an electronic invertory, finding the books should be as simple as following the authors' names in alphabetical order along the appropriate genre shelf. Putting them in boxes isn't difficult.

[–] Septimaeus@infosec.pub 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Typically both, where the business is more like (a) their legitimization of the collecting to family and friends and (b) a way to help themselves let go of books slowly, knowing the point of books is not to sit on shelves.

So an over large order of their books that won’t be read by a person is exactly the worst possible customer, rather than a boon to their business.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I get that, but it still comes across very much as much whining over nothing.

[–] Septimaeus@infosec.pub 6 points 2 days ago

Then you don’t lol but probably will some day

[–] Cherry@piefed.social 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Cruella de-ville wanted 99 puppies back in the day and no one saw issue with that till it came out why...books, puppies, if you love the product, not wanting them to be used nefariously and choosing to air that moralistic stance rather than just cash in tells you a lot. This lady should be applauded.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Are you replying to the right chain of comments? You might want to reread my original comment to see what I'm actually talking about. She wasn't complaining about any morals, but simply the workload.

I have no issue with people not wanting books to be destroyed, but that's not what this thread is about.