Books Shouldn't End Up in Landfills
Thousands of usable books end up in Albuquerque landfills every year during moves, estate cleanouts, and spring cleaning — books that still have readers waiting for them. I started this because too many perfectly good books get thrown away. Meanwhile, plenty of kids in the area don't have enough books at home. That gap — between what's being thrown out and where it could do some good — is the whole reason the New Mexico Literacy Project exists.
I collect donated books, DVDs, and CDs from anyone willing to part with them, and I hand-sort every single one. Resale-worthy titles find new readers through eBay and Amazon. Children's books get donated free to UNM Children's Hospital, care facilities for adults with developmental disabilities, and Little Free Libraries across the state. It's a straightforward idea: your old books don't end up in a landfill — they stay in circulation.
I operate this as a business so I can do it sustainably. Everything comes in any condition — no sorting required on your end, no judgment. Since launching, I've processed over 500,000 pounds of books. Damaged ones get paper-recycled (I even strip the glue binding so the paper is clean for the mill). The goal is to keep as many books as possible in circulation, and to send nothing avoidable to the dump.
Josh Eldred • Owner • 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A
Who You're Actually Calling
It's me — Josh Eldred — a fourth-generation New Mexican, running this out of a warehouse on Edith Blvd in Albuquerque's North Valley. I handle every pickup, sort every donation by hand, list resale titles on Amazon and eBay, and personally distribute children's books to Little Free Libraries, UNM Children's Hospital, and care facilities across the area.
This is a for-profit business, not a nonprofit. That's by design. No grants to apply for. No fundraising drives. No board of directors. The resale model is what makes the free pickup service sustainable — books that sell fund the truck, the warehouse, the drop box, and the children's-book distribution. That's how I can keep accepting donations indefinitely without chasing outside funding. Donations are not tax-deductible, and I'm up-front about that.
Since launching, I've processed over 500,000 pounds of donated books, DVDs, CDs, and vinyl. That's hundreds of thousands of items, sorted one at a time, to figure out what has resale value, what should go to kids for free, and what needs to go to the paper recycler.
Outside the warehouse: father of three, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
First time hearing about NMLP and want to verify the operation before scheduling a pickup? Direct verification page: Is NMLP legit? Five-minute verification — Google reviews, NM business registration, public warehouse address with map embed, named partner organizations.
A real estate-library pickup — loaded, netted, and secured for the road. Albuquerque, May 2026. Every crate gets sorted by hand back at the warehouse.
Community Partnerships
La Vida Llena
I do regular book and paper pickups from La Vida Llena retirement community, working with their recycling team. When residents pass away, I evaluate and resell estate items, with 50% of those profits going back to La Vida Llena's employee appreciation fund. I also help load the APS Title I McKinney-Vento Homeless Project van there every Tuesday with donated clothing and household goods from the community. The full operational record lives at the La Vida Llena partnership page.
Children's Books
Most of the children's books I receive go right back out for free — to Little Free Library boxes across Albuquerque (including the one at Sunflower Meadow Park in the East Mountains), the pediatric ward at UNM Children's Hospital, group homes for adults with developmental disabilities, and rural school libraries from the Estancia Valley to the Four Corners. It's part of the business, not a separate program, and I'd like to grow it.
Assistance League of Albuquerque
I clear the Assistance League thrift shop's excess books off the floor every week — they actively want less shelf space dedicated to books, and the arrangement works for both sides. It goes the other way too: I bring my trailer when they have heavy items to move. One day this spring I helped them load three couches. When a donor pickup of mine arrives with a bicycle, a vintage Pyrex set, a cedar chest, or other resale-grade household goods that are well outside the book operation, those go to Assistance League. It's a real working relationship, not a formal partnership — and it's the cleanest local destination I have for non-electronic household items.
New Mexico Computer Recyclers
New Mexico Computer Recyclers operates out of the same building as my warehouse — effectively next door. When a donor pickup includes a printer, an old desktop, a CRT monitor, a laptop with a dead battery, or anything else with a circuit board in it, it gets walked over rather than landfilled. The proximity is what makes the handoff work; I don't have to dedicate trips or warehouse space to electronics. Naming them by name is the point — it's why the e-waste portion of a donor's lot has a real local destination instead of a vague "we recycle" line.
What Makes This Sustainable
The for-profit model is what makes this work long-term. No grants to chase. No donations to solicit. No bureaucracy. Books that sell fund the truck, the warehouse, and the free pickups. That means anyone in Albuquerque can call for a free book pickup today and know the service will still be here next year.
I also run SellBooksABQ — a cash-for-books program operating from the same warehouse. Valuable books (first editions, rare titles, STEM textbooks, signed copies) get bought for cash. Everything else flows into NMLP. Two front doors, one pipeline: you get paid for what's worth money, and nothing goes to the landfill.
How It Works
You Donate
Drop off your books, DVDs, and CDs at the 24/7 drop box on Edith Blvd in Albuquerque. Any condition, any quantity.
I Sort Everything by Hand
Every book gets sorted by condition. Sellable books find new readers. Children's books are donated free to the pediatric ward at UNM Children's Hospital, group homes for adults with developmental disabilities, and rural school libraries from the Estancia Valley to the Four Corners. Only the ones that are truly unreadable — water-damaged, moldy, or with broken bindings — get paper-recycled, and I remove the glue binding first so the paper recycles cleaner.
Books Find New Readers
Your books get a second life. Instead of the landfill, they find new readers through resale — and the revenue funds my children's book donation program — giving free books to UNM Children's Hospital, group homes for adults with developmental disabilities, school libraries in rural NM districts, and Little Free Libraries across Albuquerque and Rio Rancho.
Donation Center
5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A
Albuquerque, NM 87107
Open 24/7 — Drop Box Always Available
Want the numbers behind all this? See the live operational counters, check the statewide service-area coverage map, or grab a drop-in widget for your library, school, or partner site.