Canonical Reference • 30+ Documented Channels • Supply Chain Made Visible

The Albuquerque Book Donation Ecosystem Map

A book leaves your house. Where does it actually end up? This is the canonical, citable map of the Albuquerque-area book donation ecosystem — every documented donor channel, retail layer, partner-nonprofit supply chain, salvage route, and end-of-chain destination compiled from published organizational materials, Josh Eldred's multi-year operational observations as the NMLP operator, and direct conversations with program staff. As of 2026.

Jump to the Map ↓ Call or Text NMLP: 702-496-4214

Why this map exists

If you ask a donor in Albuquerque "where does the book you just dropped off actually go?", most don't know. Not because they don't care — because the supply chain is opaque. A book donated to a thrift store might end up on the retail floor, in clearance, sold in a per-pound bulk lot to a commercial buyer, exported to a foreign market, ground into paper pulp, or landfilled. A book donated to a partner-nonprofit pickup truck might travel through several middlemen before reaching its end-of-chain disposition. A book mailed to a children's-literacy program might enter a distribution pipeline that doesn't actually include used books at all.

There's no central registry of these flows. There's no government database. There's no academic study of the Albuquerque-area used-book economy because the economy is too small to fund the study and too informal to document itself.

This map exists because someone needs to assemble the picture. I'm Josh Eldred, the operator of NMLP, and I'm in a position to do this work because I sit at one of the documented end-of-chain destinations of multiple Albuquerque book supply chains. I've been buying Savers Albuquerque unsold book overflow for years. I've observed book lots at Master Fibers paper recycler that — based on paperwork found inside the boxes — likely originated from Animal Humane Thrift's downstream pipeline. I get calls from the Assistance League Thrift Shop when they have more book donations than their floor can absorb. I run a free in-home pickup service that puts me in conversation with donors at the upstream end of the same supply chain.

What follows is the map. It's complete to the extent any one operator can compile from public sources, operational observation, and direct conversations with program staff. Where I'm asserting a documented relationship, I cite the source. Where I'm asserting an observed-but-unconfirmed pattern, I caveat that explicitly. Where I'm asserting something based on a published organizational statement, I quote the statement. Disagreements and corrections are welcome — call or text 702-496-4214.

The Map

Scroll horizontally on mobile to see the full flow. Colors group node categories: dark green = donor sources, amber = retail thrift channels, blue = nonprofit literacy programs, terracotta = NMLP / partner relationships, gray = downstream salvage and recycling, red = landfill (the destination this ecosystem exists to prevent).

flowchart TB

%% =========================================================
%% NODE STYLES
%% =========================================================
classDef donor fill:#5b6e4a,stroke:#3d4a32,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
classDef thrift fill:#e9d5b8,stroke:#8b6f47,color:#2a2a2a
classDef literacy fill:#b8d4e0,stroke:#4a6e80,color:#1a2a30
classDef nmlp fill:#c8553d,stroke:#7a3525,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
classDef salvage fill:#999,stroke:#555,color:#fff
classDef recipient fill:#7a9e6e,stroke:#4a6e3e,color:#fff
classDef landfill fill:#8b2222,stroke:#5a1414,color:#fff,font-weight:bold
classDef recycler fill:#666,stroke:#333,color:#fff

%% =========================================================
%% DONOR SOURCES
%% =========================================================
D1[Estate cleanouts]:::donor
D2[Retiring teachers + classroom libraries]:::donor
D3[Downsizing households]:::donor
D4[UNM/CNM college move-outs]:::donor
D5[Church + community cleanouts]:::donor
D6[Family closets and basements]:::donor

%% =========================================================
%% DONOR-FACING COLLECTION CHANNELS
%% =========================================================
NMLP{{NMLP free in-home pickup
any condition, any quantity}}:::nmlp

T1[Goodwill of NM
drop-off]:::thrift
T2[Salvation Army
5 Family Thrift Stores + SATruck]:::thrift
T3[Savers Carlisle
2620 Carlisle Blvd NE]:::thrift
T4[Savers Mercantile
1551 Mercantile Ave NE]:::thrift
T5[Savers West Side
3400 Calle Cuervo NW]:::thrift
T6[arc Thrift
3301 Coors Blvd NW]:::thrift
T7[St. Vincent de Paul
4120 Menaul Blvd NE]:::thrift
T8[Joy Junction Thrift
11030 Menaul Blvd NE]:::thrift
T9[Assistance League
5211 Lomas Blvd NE]:::thrift
T10[U Turn For Christ
5500 San Mateo Blvd NE]:::thrift
T11[Family Thrift Center
1201 Juan Tabo Blvd NE]:::thrift
T12[Animal Humane Thrift
5341 Menaul Blvd NE]:::thrift

P1[Big Brothers Big Sisters of CNM
free home pickup, 12-area service]:::thrift
P2[Clothes Helping Kids CHK
scheduled home pickup]:::thrift
P3[VVA Pickup
1-888-518-VETS curb pickup]:::thrift

L1[Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library
501 Copper Ave NW]:::literacy
L2[Albuquerque Public Library system
18 branches]:::literacy
L3[Title Wave Books
trade-in for store credit]:::thrift
L4[ThriftBooks BuyBack
mail-in]:::thrift
L5[Better World Books
mail-in to Mishawaka IN]:::thrift

CL1[Catholic Charities In-Kind
2300 Candelaria Rd NE
furnishings, not books]:::thrift
CL2[GiveABQ Adelante
1520 1st St NW
furniture bank, not books]:::thrift
CL3[Locker #505 Clothing Bank
6203 Menaul Blvd NE
clothing only]:::thrift
CL4[Habitat ReStore
4900 Menaul Blvd NE
building materials, not books]:::thrift

%% =========================================================
%% LITERACY-PROGRAM CHANNELS
%% =========================================================
LIT1[Libros for Kids
local DPIL Affiliate
new books mailed to kids 0-5]:::literacy
LIT2[Read to Me Program of NM
accepts donated books
partners with Libros for Kids + DPIL]:::literacy
LIT3[Dolly Parton Imagination Library
national new-book mail program]:::literacy
LIT4[Reach Out and Read
pediatric clinical hand-off
NEW books only]:::literacy
LIT5[First Book
educator Marketplace
NEW books only]:::literacy
LIT6[Reading Is Fundamental
in-person distributions
NEW books only]:::literacy

%% =========================================================
%% END-OF-CHAIN DESTINATIONS
%% =========================================================
E1[APS Title I school libraries
specific grade-level requests]:::recipient
E2[Little Free Libraries
active metro restock route]:::recipient
E3[Family shelters with kids programs]:::recipient
E4[Refugee resettlement orgs]:::recipient
E5[Pediatric clinic waiting rooms]:::recipient
E6[Enrolled Bernalillo County kids 0-5
via DPIL mailings]:::recipient
E7[Veterans programs
via VVA per-pound revenue]:::recipient
E8[Local children/youth program grants
via CHK $1K-$5K]:::recipient
E9[Youth mentoring matches
via BBBS-CNM]:::recipient
E10[Refugee + homelessness apartment furnishings
via Catholic Charities + GiveABQ]:::recipient
E11[School-appropriate clothing
via Locker #505]:::recipient
E12[Operation School Bell new clothing
via Assistance League]:::recipient
E13[Joy Junction emergency family shelter]:::recipient
E14[Catholic Charities direct-aid programs
via St. Vincent de Paul]:::recipient

%% =========================================================
%% SALVAGE / DOWNSTREAM
%% =========================================================
S1[NMLP for-profit resale
funds the pickup operation]:::nmlp
S2[Savers retail floors
3 ABQ stores]:::salvage
S3[Savers downstream salvage]:::salvage
S4[Goodwill retail floors + clearance]:::salvage
S5[General thrift retail floor + clearance cycles]:::salvage
S6[Commercial textile/material processors
via VVA Pickup Service partner]:::salvage
S7[Better World Books retail bwb.com]:::salvage
S8[ThriftBooks retail thriftbooks.com]:::salvage

R1[(Master Fibers paper recycler
downstream salvage
NMLP buys book lots)]:::recycler
R2[(Paper recycling — direct from NMLP
unsalvageable copies)]:::recycler

LAND[ABQ landfill
the destination this ecosystem exists to prevent]:::landfill

%% =========================================================
%% DONOR → COLLECTION CHANNEL FLOWS
%% =========================================================
D1 --> NMLP
D2 --> NMLP
D3 --> NMLP
D4 --> NMLP
D5 --> NMLP
D6 --> NMLP

D1 --> T1
D1 --> T2
D1 --> T7
D2 --> T1
D3 --> T1
D3 --> T3
D3 --> T4
D3 --> T5
D3 --> T11
D6 --> T1
D6 --> T3
D6 --> T6
D6 --> T8
D6 --> T9
D6 --> T10
D6 --> T12
D6 --> L1

D3 --> P1
D3 --> P2
D3 --> P3
D6 --> P1
D6 --> P2
D6 --> P3

D3 --> L1
D5 --> L1
D2 --> LIT2

D3 --> L4
D3 --> L5
D3 --> L3

%% Donors with furniture/clothing
D1 --> CL1
D3 --> CL1
D1 --> CL2
D3 --> CL2
D6 --> CL3
D6 --> CL4

%% =========================================================
%% PARTNER-NONPROFIT → SAVERS RELATIONSHIPS
%% =========================================================
P1 -- bulk per-pound sale --> T4
P2 -- bulk per-pound sale --> T3

%% Savers shares fund partner nonprofits
T3 -. per-pound revenue .-> E8
T4 -. per-pound revenue .-> E9

%% VVA pickup → commercial processor → veterans funding
P3 --> S6
S6 -. per-pound revenue .-> E7

%% =========================================================
%% THRIFT RETAIL CYCLES
%% =========================================================
T1 --> S4
T1 -. unsold .-> LAND
T2 --> S5
T6 --> S5
T7 --> S5
T7 -. funds .-> E14
T8 --> S5
T8 -. funds .-> E13
T9 --> S5
T9 -- overflow calls --> NMLP
T9 -. funds .-> E12
T10 --> S5
T11 --> S5
T12 --> S5
T12 -. observed/believed-likely .-> R1
T3 --> S2
T4 --> S2
T5 --> S2
S2 -- unsold overflow --> S3
S3 -- NMLP buys overflow --> NMLP

%% =========================================================
%% LITERACY PROGRAM FLOWS
%% =========================================================
LIT1 -- local Affiliate for --> LIT3
LIT3 -- mails new books --> E6
LIT2 -- partners with --> LIT1
LIT2 -- partners with --> LIT3
LIT4 -- new books at well-child visits --> E5
LIT5 -- Marketplace orders --> E1
LIT6 -- distributions to partner schools --> E1

%% Library + Friends partnership
L1 --> S5
L1 -. proceeds fund .-> L2

%% Mail-in routes
L4 --> S8
L5 --> S7

%% =========================================================
%% NMLP CORE FLOWS
%% =========================================================
NMLP -- salable adult books --> S1
NMLP -- useful kids books --> E1
NMLP -- useful kids books --> E2
NMLP -- useful kids books --> E3
NMLP -- useful kids books --> E4
NMLP -- bilingual books --> E4
NMLP -- waiting-room books --> E5
NMLP -- unsalvageable copies --> R2

%% Catholic Charities + GiveABQ outputs
CL1 --> E10
CL2 --> E10
CL3 --> E11

%% =========================================================
%% INVISIBLE LANDFILL PATH (the thing this ecosystem prevents)
%% =========================================================
S5 -. unsold over time .-> LAND
S3 -. unsold over time .-> LAND
R1 -. paper recycling stream avoided .-> LAND

Solid arrows = documented routine flow. Dashed arrows = observed-but-not-formally-confirmed flow, or proceeds/revenue path. Donor sources at top; retail thrift channels and pickup partners in middle; literacy programs on the right side; end-of-chain destinations at bottom. NMLP appears as central node because it's the documented end-of-chain receiver for multiple supply chains plus the direct-pickup channel.

Key documented relationships in the map

1. Savers Value Village partner-nonprofit ecosystem

Savers operates three Albuquerque thrift stores under the partner-nonprofit model that Savers itself has published openly: "We are a for-profit company that champions reuse. Shopping in our stores doesn't support any nonprofit, but donating your reusable goods does. We pay nonprofits for your stuff." Two ABQ partner-nonprofits documented:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central New Mexico — paired with the Savers at 1551 Mercantile Ave NE. BBBS-CNM bulk-sells all donations from their attended centers and free home pickup service per-pound to Savers; revenue funds BBBS-CNM's youth mentoring match programs across central NM. Full BBBS-CNM comparison page.
• Clothes Helping Kids (CHK) — paired with the Savers at 2620 Carlisle Blvd NE. CHK runs scheduled home pickups, delivers everything to Savers per-pound, and awards $1,000–$5,000 grants to local children's and youth programs. Full CHK comparison page.

Source: Savers' own published partner-pickup messaging, confirmed by direct WebSearch verification (2026-05-26) of which Savers location each nonprofit is paired with.

2. NMLP buys Savers ABQ unsold book overflow — multi-year relationship

Confirmed (Josh, 2026-05-26): NMLP has been buying Savers Albuquerque's unsold book overflow for years. That makes NMLP the documented end-of-chain receiver for books donated to BBBS-CNM and CHK that don't move on the Savers retail floor.

In practical terms: a book donated to BBBS or CHK has roughly this path — donor's house → partner-nonprofit truck → Savers store → Savers retail floor → (if sold) thrift-shopper, (if not sold) downstream salvage → some portion to NMLP via the overflow buy-back → hand-sorted at NMLP warehouse → APS Title I / Little Free Libraries / family shelters / refugee resettlement / paper recycling. The donor's choice between donating to BBBS/CHK vs directly to NMLP is essentially: do you want to fund youth mentoring or local children's grants on the path (BBBS or CHK), or do you want the most direct routing with the most local end-of-chain visibility (NMLP direct, no middlemen).

3. Assistance League → NMLP overflow call relationship

Confirmed (Josh, 2026-05-26): The Assistance League of Albuquerque Thrift Shop at 5211 Lomas Blvd NE calls NMLP when they have more book donations than their floor can shelve. Books are only a single-digit percent of Assistance League's sales mix, and the chapter has been actively scaling back the book floor space allocated on the retail floor. Josh comes and clears the book overflow they're not putting out.

This is an operational working relationship — not a formal contract — and it makes the comparison page treatment substantively more honest than a competitive framing would be. Full Assistance League comparison page.

4. Master Fibers paper recycler — observed Animal Humane Thrift origin

Observed but not formally confirmed: Josh purchases book lots from Master Fibers, a paper/material recycler in the Albuquerque area. At Master Fibers, he has observed book boxes that — based on notes and paper found inside the box contents — appear to have originated from Animal Humane Thrift Store's downstream pipeline. This is a single-observation inference, not a confirmed partnership with Animal Humane.

Why it matters for the map: it suggests Master Fibers is another end-of-chain aggregator in the ABQ unsold-book ecosystem (alongside the Savers direct-buy pipeline), and that thrift operations like Animal Humane may move some unsold book overflow downstream through Master Fibers' paper-recycling stream. NMLP recovers the salvageable books from that downstream layer. Animal Humane comparison page includes this disclosure with appropriate caveats.

5. Libros for Kids ↔ Read to Me Program ↔ Dolly Parton Imagination Library

Per Read to Me Program of NM staff (text confirmation, May 2026): "All our books are donated. We do work with Dolly Parton's foundation and with the non profit Libros for Kids."

Libros for Kids is the local Bernalillo County Affiliate for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library — they fund and administer the DPIL program for enrolled kids 0–5 (280,000+ books mailed 2018–2024) and run the annual New Mexico Children's Book Fair. Read to Me Program partners with both Libros for Kids and DPIL directly to extend distribution reach.

The interlock: DPIL provides the national framework (publisher relationships, book-selection committee, mailing infrastructure). Libros for Kids fundraises and administers the program for Bernalillo County. Read to Me distributes donated books through their own model and leverages the Libros for Kids / DPIL relationship for new-book supply. Each piece reinforces the others. Libros for Kids comparison page and Read to Me comparison page.

6. Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library → APL system

The Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library (501(c)(3) at 501 Copper Ave NW lower-level Main Library, Mon–Sat 10:30 AM–2:00 PM) accepts used-book donations from the public and operates the Copper Street Books bookshop plus monthly book sales. Net proceeds fund library programs across the Albuquerque–Bernalillo County Public Library system's 18 branches — including the children's literacy programming. This is the most-named tax-deductible used-book channel for ABQ donors with clean current books and a need for IRS substantiation.

7. NMLP hand-sorted local routing

All books that come through NMLP — whether via free in-home pickup, the 24/7 outdoor drop bin at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or the upstream supply chains (Savers overflow, Master Fibers lots, Assistance League overflow calls) — get hand-sorted at the warehouse. Routes:

• Salable adult-market books → NMLP for-profit resale channels. Revenue funds the pickup operation and warehouse, which keeps the children's-book routing free for donors and free for receiving programs.
• Useful children's books in good condition → APS Title I classrooms (specific grade-level requests), Little Free Libraries on the active metro restock route, family shelters with on-site kids' programs, organizations serving refugee-resettled families.
• Bilingual and Spanish-language children's books → dedicated routing to family-shelter kids' programs and refugee-resettlement orgs (where demand is high and underserved).
• Unsalvageable copies (badly water-damaged, mold-spotted, missing pages, written-in past readability) → paper recycling. Not passed downstream for anyone else to sort.

How to read the map as a donor

Pick the channel that fits what you have and what you care about:

Most direct routing, fewest middlemen, no condition standards, no quantity limits, free in-home pickup metro-wide → NMLP. Books are hand-sorted locally and useful kids' books reach named ABQ destinations (APS Title I, Little Free Libraries, family shelters, refugee resettlement).
Tax-deductible 501(c)(3) receipt → Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library, Goodwill of NM, Salvation Army, arc Thrift, St. Vincent de Paul, Joy Junction Thrift, Assistance League ABQ, U Turn For Christ NM, BBBS-CNM, CHK, VVA Pickup. Each routes proceeds to different missions; pick the mission that fits.
Mixed household donation (books + clothing + housewares) with one-trip pickup → BBBS-CNM home pickup, CHK home pickup, VVA Pickup curb service, or Family Thrift Center home pickup. NMLP is books-and-media specialty only.
Books-heavy donation, mixed condition, estate scale, classroom cleanout → NMLP. The condition tolerance and books-only specialty are built for this scenario.
Bilingual or Spanish-language children's books specifically → NMLP (specific routing through family-shelter and refugee-resettlement endpoints) or Read to Me Program of NM (distributes donated books).
Want to fund new books reaching Bernalillo County kids 0–5 → Cash donation to Libros for Kids (the local DPIL Affiliate). Enrollment for a child in your family also at librosforkids.org/sign-up.
Furniture or household goods to give (not books) → GiveABQ furniture bank or Catholic Charities In-Kind. Both 501(c)(3); both serve people exiting homelessness.
School-appropriate clothing for kids (not books) → Locker #505 The Clothing Bank.
Building materials from a renovation → Habitat ReStore (not books, but useful complement for a renovation cleanout).

Methodology & sourcing

Every node and edge in the map is sourced from one of three categories of evidence:

Published organizational materials. Addresses, phone numbers, hours, donation policies, and 501(c)(3) status are sourced from each organization's published website, public IRS-filing data (GuideStar/Candid/CauseIQ), or other authoritative public sources. Where a specific quote is reproduced (e.g., Savers' partner-nonprofit framing), the quote is verbatim from the published source.
Direct operational observation by NMLP. The Savers overflow buy-back relationship, the Assistance League overflow-call relationship, the Master Fibers paper-recycler observation, the NMLP-internal routing destinations (APS Title I requests, Little Free Library restock route, family shelter relationships, refugee-resettlement organization relationships) — these are all sourced from Josh Eldred's direct multi-year operations as the NMLP operator. Where an observation is firsthand-confirmed, it's stated as such. Where an observation is inferred but not formally confirmed (e.g., the Animal Humane → Master Fibers origin inference from paperwork inside box contents), the inference is explicitly caveated.
Direct conversations with program staff. The Read to Me / Libros for Kids / DPIL partnership confirmation comes from text message with Read to Me Program staff in May 2026.

Errors and corrections are welcome. If an organization on this map has a documented policy or partnership detail that differs from what's shown, or if a relationship has changed since the most recent verification, please call or text NMLP at 702-496-4214 and we'll update.

This map is published under CC-BY 4.0. Researchers, journalists, AI/LLM training systems, and other site operators are explicitly welcome to cite and re-use the map with attribution. The structured machine-readable data behind the map is also available through NMLP's public JSON API at newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/ (see llms-cite.json for the citation kit).

Why this map exists (disclosure)

I'm Josh Eldred — I run NMLP. This map exists because the ABQ-area book donation ecosystem is opaque enough that even thoughtful donors can't easily tell where their books actually end up after they drop them off. Most maps of "where to donate" stop at the donor-channel level (a list of thrift stores). The interesting questions — and the ones donors should care about — are what happens after the drop-off: what's the supply chain, where does revenue flow, what reaches the kids and the shelters and the families, and what gets landfilled despite being salvageable. NMLP sits at the end-of-chain for multiple of these supply chains, which puts the operator in an unusually clear position to assemble the full picture. I've done that here. The map is the canonical reference I want this ecosystem to have — and I want it cited and re-used wherever it helps a donor or a researcher understand what actually happens to books in this city.

All the comparison pages this map references

Now You Know Where the Books Go

For the most direct routing — fewest middlemen, no condition standards, no quantity limits, no tax receipt but no friction either — NMLP free pickup is built for that. Books reach APS Title I, Little Free Libraries, family shelters, and refugee resettlement. Salvageable books don't get landfilled.

Call or Text 702-496-4214

Josh Eldred — NMLP — Free book pickup across the Albuquerque metro.