Crowdfunding: Connecting Creators and Patrons

Hello! This may be a bit off topic, but I know some crowdfunders use this service to publish physical copies of their books, so if there is a scam, you'd either have heard of it or want to be aware of it.

I've had a rather odd encounter with a library patron - I'm a librarian, and the one who handles technical questions at our small library. Last week a patron came in wanting to burn a PDF file onto a CD, and our public computers were having issues doing this (I'm working on that part). In order to get this done quickly, I offered to burn the file to a CD on one of our staff computers. I thought that was the end of it.

The person returned today, wanting to burn a different version of the file onto another CD. This time the process did not go smoothly, and attempting to open the file crashed our staff computer. So I asked the patron a few questions about the file - how large it was, whether this was for backup purposes (if so, the copy on their comptuer at home and on the USB flash drive thye had with them would be fairly adequate until they could come back with a third CD for me to try).

The file was 300 pages, and they needed it on a CD to send to a publisher. This seemed a bit odd to me, as most publishers I know of get files in Word format, and then use their own layout software which is far superior to the average computer owner's software. I asked if the publisher had specified a PDF specifically, and mentioned it would be difficult to do any editing or to track changes on a PDF.

The person told me that the publisher would not make any changes. I was then asked if I was familiar with CreateSpace. I was learned that some changes had been requested and made, which seemed contradictory, but explained this second visit.

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't one normally just upload a file to CreateSpace? I have never heard of anyone mailing them a CD. And I thought they accepted either Word files or ePub. I am positive they do not offer editing or request changes (but it was possible the changes involves formatting as opposed to editorial changes).

I am concerned that this person is possibly the victim of some sort of scam. They left before I could ask any more questions, and I'm not sure how much more I could ask without being rude or prying. The book's title referred to this person's father, and so this is quite likely a project with a great deal of personal significance.

For those who use CreateSpace - have you mailed them a CD? Do they want a PDF? In case I see this person again, I'd like to be a bit more familiar with how this works (I don't have anything that I want to try publishing as a personal experiment).

Thanks!