Sometimes if you already have a hammer, you start to see ways to hit things, pry things, or pin things so that you don't have to invent or buy another tool.

From this perspective, the fact that some people got together to try this isn't a surprise, it's certainly not idiocy, and being creative with existing skills and resources during a pandemic is far from a bad idea. More data and cred for drone folks, more cred and energy leverage for library folks, and more books and learning experiences for readers and learners.