1. New Mexico Literacy Project (NMLP)
5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque NM 87107505-250-3804newmexicoliteracyproject.org
What it is: A for-profit New Mexico business that operates as a free book and media donation service. Owner-operator Josh Eldred. Books, magazines, encyclopedias, journals, sheet music, photo albums, VHS, DVDs, CDs, audio cassettes, and vinyl, plus clean, wearable clothing. Free Albuquerque-metro pickup, scheduled as soon as Josh's route allows.
Pros: Free pickup across the Albuquerque metro. Any condition accepted including water-damaged and moldy. No sorting required. The lifting is handled by Josh. Resells readable books on Amazon and eBay (that resale funds the free service), passes children’s books on free to Little Free Libraries around town, and sends unsalvageable books to a regional pulp recycler. Covered 24/7 drop box outside the warehouse gate for donors who don’t want to schedule a pickup. 5.0 rating from 86 Google reviews, claimed Yelp business listing, single owner-operator, public warehouse address, registered NM business. The donation archive documents specific books that came through pickup with bibliographic detail and donor scenarios, the kind of transparency neither chain thrifts nor library Friends groups publish.
Cons: Not a 501(c)(3); donations are not tax-deductible. Books and media first, plus clean, wearable clothing — no furniture, appliances, or hazardous waste. Single operator: pickups are scheduled by route, so a busy season means a longer wait.
Best for: Movers, estate executors, downsizing seniors, surviving spouses, offices and businesses clearing out company libraries, anyone with mixed-condition or large-volume libraries, anyone who can’t lift the boxes, anyone who can’t bear the thought of books going to landfill.
2. Goodwill of New Mexico
Multiple Albuquerque locations · goodwillnm.org
What it is: Registered 501(c)(3) regional Goodwill operator. Store drop-off, or a fee-based home pickup through its partner ReSupply (the fee goes to ReSupply, not Goodwill). Its published accepted-items list includes books alongside clothing, dishes, electronics, furniture, and household goods.
Pros: Tax-deductible (501c3 receipt issued at donation). Multiple Albuquerque-metro locations. Brand recognition makes it the default for many donors. Genuinely excellent for clothes, dishes, electronics, and furniture.
Cons (book-specific): Donation attendants decide at intake what Goodwill can sell, so water-damaged, moldy, or badly worn books can be turned away, and the donor carries the rejected stack home. Pickup is not free: Goodwill routes home pickups to ReSupply, which charges a pickup fee. Goodwill NM’s published donation list doesn’t address encyclopedia sets or magazine runs; call the store before hauling either.
Best for: Small-quantity donors with pristine current books who need a tax receipt and live near a Goodwill location.
3. Savers
Multiple Albuquerque locations · savers.com
What it is: A for-profit thrift chain that pays a partner 501(c)(3) charity per pound of donations received. The donor donates to the partner charity, which gets the tax-receipt credit; Savers operates the retail store.
Pros: Tax-deductible via partner charity. Multiple Albuquerque locations.
Cons (book-specific): Drop-off only; condition calls are made by store staff at intake, and what happens to unsold stock isn’t published in detail.
Best for: Same as Goodwill — small pristine donations, tax-receipt priority.
4. Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library
Donations taken at the Main Library downtown (501 Copper Ave NW) on a posted weekly schedule; periodic large book sales · friendsofthepubliclibrary.org
What it is: Volunteer 501(c)(3), founded 1969, supporting the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library system. Takes book donations at the Main Library downtown on a posted weekly schedule that varies by day (check friendsofthepubliclibrary.org before you go); runs periodic large sales whose proceeds fund programs across all 19 library locations.
Pros: Tax-deductible (501c3). Donations stay in the local public library ecosystem. Some donations are added to library collections, and the Friends decide what goes to their book sales and what gets recycled.
Cons: Drop-off only, downtown only, daytime hours only. Boxes are capped at 30 pounds so volunteers can lift them, and ten or more boxes should be arranged ahead by phone or email. The Friends turn away anything moldy, mildewed, buggy or heavily dirty, plus damaged copies: torn, water-damaged, stained, heavily underlined or missing pages. The library branches keep a separate list: they don’t take books with mold, handwriting or highlighting, magazines, Reader’s Digest condensed books, encyclopedias or textbooks. Not built for thousand-volume estates.
Best for: Pristine current and recent books that the donor wants to specifically benefit ABQ Public Library programs.
5. Habitat for Humanity ReStore
4900 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque · habitatabqrr.org
What it is: Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity’s 501(c)(3) resale store, with a second donation center in Rio Rancho at 1525 Stephanie Rd SE. Its accepted list is furniture, appliances, building materials, and plumbing materials and fixtures; books are not on it, and neither are household dishes or knick-knacks.
Pros: Tax-deductible. Furniture pickup available for non-book donations.
Cons: Not a book operation at all; books are not on its accepted list.
Best for: Furniture, appliances, and building materials — route the books elsewhere.
6. Animal Humane Thrift Store
5341 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque · animalhumanenm.org
What it is: 501(c)(3) thrift supporting Animal Humane New Mexico animal welfare programs. Accepts books along with clothing and household goods.
Pros: Tax-deductible. Donations support animal welfare. Pleasant donor experience for animal-loving donors.
Cons: Books are a drop-off donation (its home pickup is for large items), and staff decide at intake what can sell; broken or damaged items are turned away. Same shelf-turnover dynamics as other thrifts.
Best for: Small pristine donations from donors who want the proceeds supporting animal rescue.
7. Bookworks (Rio Grande Boulevard)
4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW, Albuquerque NM 87107 · bkwrks.com
What it is: Albuquerque’s primary independent bookstore, open since 1984. It sells new books, children’s titles, and gifts and hosts author events. It does not run a used-book trade-in, buyback, or donation program — a persistent local myth that this guide repeated until September 2026.
Pros: The best way to help Bookworks is to buy your next book there — in store at 4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW or through its Bookshop.org storefront — rather than from Amazon.
Cons: Not a donation channel at all: no used intake, no store credit, no tax receipt. Don’t carry a box in.
Best for: Buying new books locally. For used books, see Title Wave Books (next) or NMLP.
8. Title Wave Books (Independent Used Bookstore)
2318 Wisconsin St NE, Albuquerque NM 87110 · titlewavebooks.com
What it is: Albuquerque’s independent used bookstore at 2318 Wisconsin St NE, not affiliated with UNM. It takes gently used books in trade by appointment through its book-trading program, with credit toward store purchases. (Earlier versions of this guide wrongly described Title Wave as a UNM library deaccession sale. UNM University Libraries do not accept book donations at all, and unsolicited drop-offs there are discarded.)
Pros: A real used-book counter: clean, current, in-demand titles can earn trade credit and stay in local circulation.
Cons: Trade appointments only, Tuesday through Saturday, with a limit of three boxes or bags, and its policy rules out drop-offs and donations entirely. Books it doesn’t keep go home with you. Credit, not a donation receipt; not built for estates or damaged books.
Best for: Readers with a small stack of clean, recent titles and time to book an appointment. Anything Title Wave passes on can come to NMLP in any condition.
9. Better World Books
betterworldbooks.com
What it is: A for-profit online used-book retailer with a literacy-focused branding. Accepts mailed donations at its Mishawaka, Indiana warehouse (no prepaid labels) and runs drop boxes in some areas, with a limited New Mexico presence; it takes no walk-ins and doesn’t pick up.
Pros: Mail-in path for donors not near any drop-off. Books that meet criteria are listed for sale and a portion of proceeds funds literacy programs.
Cons: For-profit; not tax-deductible. The donor pays shipping or hunts for one of its sparse drop boxes. Books it can’t sell or give to literacy partners are recycled into pulp.
Best for: Donors with mass-market recent titles in good condition who don’t mind shipping and want a portion of proceeds funding literacy.
10. ThriftBooks BuyBack / AbeBooks
thriftbooks.com / abebooks.com
What it is: Two different animals. ThriftBooks runs a mail-in BuyBack: you enter ISBNs, print a free prepaid label, and ship one box of up to 40 pounds; it's a sale program, not a donation. AbeBooks is a marketplace for professional booksellers. Neither is a donation channel.
Pros: ThriftBooks: no shipping cost and no listing work for the handful of titles its algorithm wants. AbeBooks: the widest audience for genuinely scarce books, if you run a bookselling business.
Cons: ThriftBooks accepts only the ISBNs it currently wants, one box per order, and pays little per book. AbeBooks is not for occasional sellers. Most personal libraries don’t contain enough wanted inventory to justify either.
Best for: ThriftBooks: a small stack of in-demand recent titles when you don’t mind mailing a box. AbeBooks: established dealers only.
11. UNM Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections
Zimmerman Library, UNM · library.unm.edu/cswr
What it is: Scholarly archive for materials with research value related to the Southwest, New Mexico history, regional culture, and academic disciplines. May consider archival papers selectively, by appointment — contact them before bringing anything. (UNM University Libraries do not accept book donations.)
Pros: The right home for scholarly papers, regional history collections, manuscripts, and academic correspondence with research significance.
Cons: Selective. Most personal libraries don’t meet the scope. Donations require advance coordination — not a walk-in channel.
Best for: Faculty libraries with scholarly papers, family-history collections with regional significance, manuscript material.
12. New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
Santa Fe · srca.nm.gov
What it is: The state archive for New Mexico government records and historical documents. Selective; primarily accepts material with documented historical significance.
Pros: The right destination for genuinely historically significant New Mexico papers, records, and documents.
Cons: Selective. Most family papers don’t meet the threshold. Santa Fe location.
Best for: Family papers with documented New Mexico historical significance; genealogical material from long-line NM families.
13. Rio Rancho Public Library Donation Shed (Loma Colorado)
755 Loma Colorado Blvd NE, Rio Rancho NM 87124 · rrnm.gov
What it is: The City of Rio Rancho’s public library takes book donations in a shed in the back parking lot of Loma Colorado Main Library, open around the clock. Donations stock the library’s own Twice Read Tales Bookstore and the book sales it holds at the library six times a year.
Pros: Drop off at any hour with no appointment, and the books stay with a local library. The bookstore sells adult and teen books, children’s books, DVDs and CDs.
Cons: You unload it yourself, and the city says donations may be turned away for a while when space runs short. The city’s page doesn’t list what it declines, so bring clean books and discs.
Best for: A carload of clean books from Rio Rancho or the West Side, dropped off whenever it suits you. More on my where to donate books in Rio Rancho page.
14. FriendShop, Friends of Libraries and Literacy (Rio Rancho)
4300 Ridgecrest Dr #J/K, Rio Rancho NM · 505-892-7323 · friendsoflibrariesandliteracy.org
What it is: An all-volunteer 501(c)(3), separate from the city and its libraries, that sells donated books and media at its FriendShop to fund library and literacy programs across Sandoval County. The shop takes donations Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pros: Takes gently used books, recent magazines, jigsaw puzzles, comics and manga, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays. Receipts are available at the shop, and for a large donation the Friends will set up a time for a volunteer to collect it.
Cons: No encyclopedias, VHS tapes or damaged books, and donations are taken only during shop hours.
Best for: Clean books from a donor who wants the proceeds to stay with literacy programs in Sandoval County.
15. Little Free Libraries
What it is: Small neighborhood book boxes kept by volunteer stewards and run on the honor system: take a book, share a book. Many Albuquerque neighborhoods have one, and the world map at littlefreelibrary.org shows the closest. I also pass children’s books on free to Little Free Libraries around town.
Pros: Free, close to home, and the books go straight to neighbors who want to read them.
Cons: Room for a handful of books at a time. The Little Free Library organization asks people not to cram a box that’s already full and to check with the steward when unsure.
Best for: A few readable books at a time. For boxes of them, use a pickup or drop-off channel above; parents clearing out kids’ books can start with my guide to donating children’s books in Albuquerque.
16. Auction Houses & Rare-Book Dealers (a sale channel, not a donation)
What it is: Auction houses and rare-book dealers sell individual books on consignment. That's a sale channel, not a donation, so this guide doesn't compare it. I don't appraise books; anything you want to keep, set aside before pickup and it stays yours.
17. Junk Removal (1-800-Got-Junk, College Hunks Hauling Junk, Junk King)
What it is: Volume-based pickup-and-dispose services. Priced by the fraction of the truck your load fills (an eighth, a quarter, a half, a full truck), with a minimum charge even for a small pickup.
Pros: Fast scheduling, often within a day or two. Will haul anything in any condition.
Cons: Charges by volume regardless of contents, so a wall of books costs the same per cubic foot as furniture or actual junk. Haulers say they donate or recycle what they can, but nobody hand-sorts the books for readers. Pulling the books out first (NMLP takes them free) shrinks the paid load. (Detail: junk removal alternative for books.)
Best for: Time-pressured cleanouts where coordination overhead matters more than cost; non-book components of a cleanup.
18. Regional Pulp Recycler (NMLP-Routed)
What it is: Industrial paper recycling that turns unsalvageable books back into pulp. NMLP routes water-damaged, moldy, and otherwise unsalvageable books to a regional recycler rather than landfill.
Pros: The cellulose stays in circulation as paper. Better than landfill for any book that can’t reach a reader.
Cons: Not directly donor-facing; reach this through NMLP.
Best for: The category of books no other channel will accept. NMLP handles routing.
19. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico (Free Home Pickup)
Donation Center: 2917 Juan Tabo Blvd NE, Albuquerque · pickup scheduling 505-881-0599
What it is: A 501(c)(3) youth-mentoring nonprofit that runs a donation center and a free home-pickup truck. It is a Savers partner nonprofit: donated goods are sold to Savers by the pound, and that revenue funds mentoring matches across central New Mexico.
Pros: Free pickup at your house. One stop takes clothing, books, toys, and small household items together. Tax receipt issued through the nonprofit.
Cons (book-specific): Geared to clean, current-condition goods, so water-damaged, moldy, or heavily worn books are a poor fit. Books go on through the Savers retail cycle, and what doesn’t sell there continues down Savers’ own salvage pipeline.
Best for: A mixed household donation in good shape — boxes of books plus bags of clothes, toys, and housewares — from a donor who wants one truck and a tax receipt. Full side-by-side: Big Brothers Big Sisters vs NMLP.