A La Mesa used and rare bookseller has stopped fulfilling large orders after learning that some bulk buyers were connected to AI companies or middlemen seeking books for scanning and destruction, according to East County Magazine.

Maxwell's House of Books owner Craig Maxwell told the publication that his shop began receiving unusually large orders from mostly new customers. He said the store eventually learned that some books were being routed through wholesale middlemen to AI companies that scan and pulp books.

East County Magazine tied the local response to broader reporting and court filings about AI companies buying physical books to train models. The article cited legal filings describing Anthropic's Project Panama, in which physical books were purchased, cut apart, scanned and shredded.

Maxwell said he canceled the large orders once he understood where some of the books were going. The La Mesa shop specializes in used and rare books, making the issue especially pointed for East County readers who value independent bookstores and physical collections.

For Santee and East County residents, the story is a local window into a national debate over artificial intelligence, copyright and cultural preservation. Source: East County Magazine.