Where to Donate Encyclopedias in Albuquerque (Even If Nobody Wants Them)
Encyclopedias are one of the hardest things to donate. You've probably experienced this yourself. Libraries don't want them. Goodwill often rejects them. Used bookstores won't buy them. You're left standing in your garage or basement, staring at heavy shelves of information that's become obsolete, wondering what to do with them.
The reality is simple: most encyclopedia sets have very low resale value in 2026. The internet has made them redundant. But they're still heavy, they still take up space, and you still need somewhere to take them. That's where the New Mexico Literacy Project comes in.
Last verified May 2026 · Original research by Josh Eldred
I Accept Encyclopedias at My 24/7 Drop Box
The New Mexico Literacy Project accepts encyclopedias in any condition at my 24/7 drop box. Partial sets, outdated editions, World Book, Britannica, specialty encyclopedias—I take them all. It doesn't matter if you have volume A-F or the complete 1987 edition. It doesn't matter if the spines are cracked, the pages are yellowed, or you're missing a few volumes. I'll accept them.
Drop Off Location:
5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A
Albuquerque, NM 87107
(Edith and Montano, North Valley)
The drop box is available 24/7, so you can bring your encyclopedias anytime that's convenient for you. No appointment needed. No questions asked. Simply open the box and place your books inside.
What If You Have a Large Collection?
Full Britannica sets are remarkably heavy. If you have an entire encyclopedia collection—or if the drive to Edith and Montano isn't feasible for you—I offer free pickup service for larger donations. Just call me at 702-496-4214 to arrange a time that works for your schedule. I'll come get them.
I've handled over 500,000 pounds of books through the New Mexico Literacy Project. Large encyclopedia collections are part of that work.
What Happens to Your Encyclopedias?
Here's the honest truth: some of your encyclopedias may be sold. If a volume is in good condition and there's someone who wants it, I'll resell it and keep that book in circulation. But most encyclopedias won't be resold. Instead, I recycle them responsibly.
I find new readers for every book I can. For encyclopedias that can't be resold, I handle the recycling myself. I remove the glue bindings—which improves recyclability—and ensure the rest of the material goes to responsible recycling facilities rather than to a landfill.
I'm not going to claim that nothing goes to waste, or that your encyclopedias will magically find a new home. That wouldn't be honest. But I will handle them responsibly and remove one more burden from your home.
Important Note About Tax Deductions
The New Mexico Literacy Project is a for-profit organization. I cannot provide tax deductions for donated items. If you're looking for a charitable donation with tax benefits, you'll want to research nonprofits in your area that accept book donations. For everyone else—those who simply need the space and want a responsible place to drop off old encyclopedias—I'm here to help.
Why Libraries Won't Take Encyclopedias
You might think public libraries would want encyclopedias—they have reading material, they're organized by subject, they're sturdy books. But the reality is that libraries stopped accepting encyclopedia donations years ago, and most won't take them even if you call and ask specifically.
The reason is simple: encyclopedias are obsolete information products. A 1995 Britannica contains facts that are outdated or wrong by modern standards. Any reference book from before 2000 has significant gaps in coverage—there's no information about the internet era, modern medicine, current events, or updated science. Libraries need current reference material. An outdated encyclopedia takes up shelf space that could hold a book someone will actually use.
Additionally, library budgets for donations are limited. Staff has to evaluate every donation, and encyclopedias get rejected quickly because the labor to intake and process them isn't worth the zero circulation they'll get. Libraries have moved to digital reference materials anyway—search the internet for information faster and more accurately than flipping through 26 volumes.
The History of How Encyclopedias Became Obsolete
For 300 years, encyclopedias were the pinnacle of reference publishing. The Encyclopedia Britannica, first published in 1768, was considered essential knowledge—if you had it on your shelf, you had access to carefully compiled information on thousands of topics. During the 20th century, families invested hundreds of dollars in full encyclopedia sets. They were status symbols and educational tools combined.
Then the internet happened. Specifically, Wikipedia launched in 2001 and fundamentally changed reference publishing. Suddenly, comprehensive, free, right away updated information was available to anyone with a browser. No need to buy a new edition every 5 years. No need for shelf space. Need to know something? Google it. Encyclopedia sets became relics overnight.
The transition was fast. By 2012, Britannica stopped printing physical copies entirely and went digital-only. Other publishers followed. The last new encyclopedia sets were printed in the mid-2000s. Today, the only encyclopedias people own are the ones they inherited, bought decades ago, or picked up at estate sales. They sit on shelves gathering dust because the information they contain is simultaneously outdated and easily replaced by a 10-second internet search.
What I Actually Do With Donated Encyclopedias
I'm honest about this: most encyclopedias don't get resold. The market for physical encyclopedias is essentially nonexistent. Nobody wants them. A complete 1989 Britannica set has zero resale value. Even specialty encyclopedias—art encyclopedias, medical encyclopedias, regional encyclopedias—struggle to find buyers.
Some sets do get resold anyway, occasionally to people looking for aesthetic home decor ("I want classic books on the shelf") or specialty collectors, but this is rare. Most encyclopedias I accept go into my recycling process. I remove the glue bindings—which makes paper recycling more efficient—and send the materials to recycling facilities instead of landfills.
I don't pretend encyclopedias will find "new homes" or that they magically help people. That's not honest. But I do handle them responsibly instead of letting you deal with them. You don't have to figure out what to do with 26 heavy volumes. You bring them to us, I take them off your hands, and I ensure they're recycled rather than dumped.