Donate Books by Mail — New Mexico
Books in New Mexico but no way to drive them? Three free-to-you-or-nearly routes, honestly ranked.
1. In the Albuquerque metro: don’t pay postage
If the books are anywhere in the metro — Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, Bernalillo, Placitas, Los Lunas, Belen, the East Mountains — free pickup comes to you, and the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE never closes. This is the most common out-of-state-family scenario too: the books are already IN Albuquerque, so nothing needs shipping at all — I clear the shelves during an estate cleanout and you coordinate by phone from anywhere.
2. Anywhere else in New Mexico (or beyond): mail them
Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Farmington, Roswell, a ranch mailbox in Catron County — if driving to Albuquerque isn’t happening, the mail is the bridge. You pay the postage (USPS Media Mail is the cheap book rate — ask for it by name at any post office), and every box gets opened by hand, every title checked, and no book goes to the landfill.
Mail-in donations — ship to
NMLP — Mail-In Donations
14204 Marquette Dr NE
Albuquerque, NM 87123
Any carrier · full postage please (postage-due boxes bounce back) · no appointment needed
Shipping from outside New Mexico? Same address, same welcome — the national mail-in page has the full how-to, including what USPS Media Mail legally covers (books, vinyl, CDs, DVDs, tapes) and what ships Ground Advantage instead.
3. If a tax receipt is the priority
Straight answer, as always: NMLP is a locally owned for-profit, so donations to me — mailed or otherwise — are not tax-deductible. If a receipt matters most, a local 501(c)(3) like a Friends-of-the-Library group is your best route. If what matters is that the books actually get dealt with — any condition, no sorting, a human eye on every volume — that’s me.
The narrow special case: New Mexico family papers
If you’re coordinating an estate remotely and it includes regional material with documented New Mexico provenance — Spanish-language territorial-era documents, parish records, land-grant paperwork — those belong in a regional archive, not a general donation stream. Email hello@newmexicoliteracyproject.org with the situation before mailing anything and I’ll point you at the right repository.
Questions before you box anything? Text 505-250-3804 — a photo of the shelf is plenty.