MADURAI: The District Library Authority (DLA) in Madurai has ordered the removal of 1,529 books published by two publishers in the district.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from the DLA in Madurai said the action came in the wake of allegations regarding AI-generated books, featuring non-important titles, fake authors, dubious publishing houses, and inflated prices, in the book procurement process for the Periyar Knowledge World in Coimbatore.
A total of 1,529 books — 998 published by Phoenix and 531 by Agalvilakku — were procured during 2025-26 and distributed among the 133 branch libraries in the district, the official added. Orders placed with all book publishers have also been cancelled for the time being. Meanwhile, around 350 books published under the name of Phoenix Publications, purchased during 2022-23, have been isolated at the Kalaignar Centenary Library (KCL) in Madurai over allegations of fake ISBNs.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from KCL said the books, covering subjects including science and social sciences, are estimated to be worth around Rs 2 lakh. In Dindigul district, officials have also removed books published by the two publishers from branch libraries.
“Currently, 1,007 books published by Phoenix and 1,200 books published by Agalvilakku have been identified and removed,” an official said. In Sivaganga district, library officials have removed 840 books published by Agalvilakku and 357 books published by Phoenix from 52 branch libraries.