GoKawiilAI scraping bots overload university library servers, disrupting public access
Academic libraries across North America, Europe and Oceania report being hit by waves of data-scraping bots seeking content for AI companies' large language models. Staff at institutions including San Jose State University and University of Victoria say the bot traffic has slowed or crashed digital archives, disrupting access for students, researchers and the public. Researchers say the problem emerged in late 2024 and has been worsening since.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Libraries are attractive targets for AI data-harvesting because they hold vetted, openly accessible material not locked behind paywalls, which could make them disproportionately burdened compared with commercial sites that can afford stronger defenses. The strain suggests a broader tension between AI companies' hunger for training data and the capacity of public institutions to keep digitized collections freely available, potentially forcing libraries to spend scarce resources on bot mitigation rather than their core mission.
- University libraries worldwide report bots overwhelming servers while scraping content for AI training.
- The disruptions can crash or slow access to digitized academic, historical and government archives.
- Experts say the issue began appearing in late 2024 and continues to intensify.
Source: cbc.ca — Digital Writer, 2026-11-06
Published there as: “University libraries are being swarmed by AI bots, putting public access at risk”
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