Independent bookshops in the United Kingdom and Ireland have seen a large and unusual rise in big orders for rare and special books. Many shops report that buyers want hundreds of books at once, often about local history or technical subjects. Most buyers stay anonymous and use other companies to collect the books.

This is happening because artificial intelligence (AI) companies want to make digital copies of these rare books. These books are hard to find online, so the companies buy and scan them to improve their computer programmes that learn from texts.

As a result, some people now worry that these old or rare books will disappear from public shelves. Booksellers in cities like London and Dublin say this new trend could mean that once books are scanned, fewer people can see or use the real copies.