ISBNdb.com
Type of site | Bibliographic database |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2001 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Industry | Internet, E-commerce, Big Data |
| URL | isbndb |
| Launched | 2001 |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in | PHP |
ISBNdb.com is an online bibliographic database of book metadata, founded in 2001. In July 2026, the company drew media coverage and criticism after its website advertised service to source print books for artificial inteligence companies seeking train data - a practice associated with destructive book scanning. Following the coverage, ISBNdb removed the page and said the offer had been a test of demand for service it "never brought to life".[1][2][3]
Business model
[edit source]ISBNdb provides limited book metadata free of charge through its web interface; a paid subscription provides access to additional metadata fields and API access.[4][5]
Sourcing books for AI trainning
[edit source]In July 2026, ISBNdb received significant media coverage for providing services to AI companies purchase and destroy books in bulk for AI training. The issue was first raised by 404 Media, which reported that ISBNdb claimed they can keep the identity of AI companies secret while sourcing books, noting that AI companies are aware that destroying books is bad publicity. According to the report, ISBNdb's website wrote that "Every project begins with a legally binding non-disclosure agreement. Your identity, strategy, and acquisition targets are never disclosed."[1][6][7][2][8][9][10][3] ISBNdb also claimed they can procure up to one million books per order for the AI companies, including of “older, rare and specialist volumes”.[11]
The story was met with significant outrage.[8][9] The Daily Telegraph described the process as "cultural barbarism" and reported that billionaire Elon Musk responded to the concern regarding ISBNdb, saying that "I've asked the SpaceX AI team to preserve any rare books in a library and scan them the hard way rather than just cutting off the spine and scanning."[2]
Technology website Futurism explained the rationale of such service, writing that by buying physical books and scanning them, the AI companies took advantage of the first-sale doctrine, which allows a buyer to do what they want with the books without the original copyright holder’s say-so.[10]
Following the media coverage, IDBNdb removed the webpage which offered the book purchase services for AI companies.[3] A spokesperson of the company told The Daily Telegraph that while ISBNdb offered the service, it was a test "to explore demand for a service we never brought to life".[2]
See also
[edit source]- Project Panama – Digital piracy and destructive book scanning operation by Anthropic
References
[edit source]- 1 2 Maiberg, Emanuel (2026-07-21). "AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop". 404 Media. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- 1 2 3 4 Stokel-Walker, Chris (2026-07-30). "Cultural barbarism: How AI companies are destroying the world's books". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- 1 2 3 Sataua, Tatiana. "This Dutch bookseller thought a request for 3,000 copies was 'spam or phishing.' Instead, AI companies are scanning and destroying books to train AI". Fortune. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "International Standard Book Number (ISBN)". bibliotecnica.upc.edu. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ↑ Derek Haines,"How You Can Check The Reputation Of A Book Publisher". justpublishingadvice.com. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- ↑ Reisner, Alex (2026-08-05). "Someone Is Mysteriously Snapping Up Used Books Around the World". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Taylor, Chris (2026-08-08). "AI companies destroy old books to train AI. Here's why". Mashable. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- 1 2 Layne, Misty (2026-07-31). "AI Companies Are Buying and Destroying Older Books at an Alarming Rate". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- 1 2 Kotzer, Zack (2026-08-01). "Suppliers Scramble As Rare Books Destroyed To Train AI". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- 1 2 Landymore, Frank (2026-07-25). "AI Companies Are Buying Antique Books, Ingesting Their Contents to Train Models, and Then Destroying Them at Incredible Scale, Even If Almost No Copies Remain". Futurism. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "AI labs buy, scan, shred millions of rare books". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 2026-07-31. Retrieved 2026-08-10.