Free Book Pickup · Nob Hill & UNM
Free Book Donation Pickup in Nob Hill & the UNM Area
Nob Hill and the UNM neighborhoods produce more book donations per square mile than almost anywhere else in the metro. The combination of academic households, mid-century homes with built-in bookshelves on every wall, Route 66 corridor families whose collections span decades, and the constant churn of students moving in and out creates a steady stream of material that needs to go somewhere better than a dumpster.
I pick up everything for free — books, media, electronics — from Nob Hill proper, University Heights, Ridgecrest, Silver Hill, Sigma Chi, and the apartments and houses surrounding UNM. Text or call 702-496-4214, or schedule online.
Last verified May 2026 · Original research by Josh Eldred
What I Pick Up
Everything related to reading, media, and electronics. No sorting required on your end.
- •Books in any condition. Hardcovers, paperbacks, textbooks, course readers, academic monographs, water-damaged garage boxes, personal libraries of any size.
- •Media. Vinyl records (I sort carefully — many have resale value), CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, VHS, cassettes, video games.
- •Electronics and e-waste. Computers, laptops, monitors, printers, peripherals, cables. Free e-waste pickup with hard drive destruction on request.
- •Paper and documents. Magazines, journals, office paper, file cabinet contents. Recycled responsibly.
What Collections Look Like in This Neighborhood
UNM Faculty and Staff Libraries
The neighborhoods adjacent to UNM — along Yale, Girard, Carlisle south of Lomas — have housed professors and university staff for decades. When these households donate or when a faculty member passes away and the family needs to clear the home, the library is often the dominant feature. Thousands of scholarly volumes, academic journals, conference proceedings, and discipline-specific reference works. I sort these by hand. Books with resale value go to my Amazon and eBay channels. Volumes appropriate for current students or programs get donated. I have handled collections spanning everything from Southwest anthropology to nuclear engineering — the range of disciplines at UNM means the range of libraries I encounter is equally broad.
Student Move-Outs
Every May and December, the apartment complexes and rental houses near UNM empty out. Students leaving Albuquerque after graduation often have textbooks, course readers, novels from literature classes, and personal collections they cannot take with them. Rather than leaving books on the curb or stuffing them in a dumpster, a quick text to me gets them picked up and routed to someone who will use them. I also take the computers and electronics students leave behind. For textbook-specific options during finals week, see my end-of-semester textbook guide and the UNM textbook donation page.
Route 66 Corridor Homes
The residential blocks just off Central Avenue in Nob Hill proper contain some of the most storied homes in the metro — mid-century brick ranches and pre-war bungalows whose original owners watched neon signs go up along the Mother Road. Families who have been in these homes for fifty or sixty years accumulate collections that reflect the era: local histories, roadside Americana, Albuquerque photography books, and well-read fiction from decades of patronizing Bookworks on Rio Grande Boulevard and the late, lamented Nob Hill bookshops along Central.
Ridgecrest & Silver Hill
South of Lomas and threading toward Bataan Park, these neighborhoods share the same long-ownership pattern as Nob Hill proper. Original buyers from the 1950s and 1960s, now in their 80s and 90s, with homes full of books. When families begin the downsizing process or settle an estate, the library is often the most overwhelming piece — every room has shelves, closets have boxes, the garage has more. I take it all.
How Pickup Works
- Text or call 702-496-4214, or use the pickup form. A rough description and your address is all I need.
- I schedule. Nob Hill and UNM pickups typically happen within a few days — often sooner during semester transitions.
- I load everything. You point, I carry. Stairs, narrow hallways, heavy boxes — all handled.
- Everything goes. Books, media, electronics, paper — one trip when possible.
Prefer to drop off? my 24/7 bin at 5445 Edith Blvd NE is always open.
What Happens to Your Books
Every donation is hand-sorted at my warehouse. The goal is simple: get each book to the outcome it deserves.
- •Books with resale value — including academic titles, collectible New Mexico books, and popular nonfiction — go to my online sales channels. This revenue funds the entire operation.
- •Readable donations go to Little Free Libraries across Albuquerque, classroom libraries, shelters, and community reading programs.
- •Damaged material is recycled — not landfilled.
- •Regionally significant titles are preserved in the NMLP archive. The Hillerman, Route 66, and Hispano literature collections I build from Nob Hill donations are among the strongest in the operation.
Nob Hill & UNM FAQ
Do you pick up books from UNM students moving out?
Can you handle a retired professor's entire library?
Is there a minimum amount of books for pickup?
Do you pick up from apartment complexes near UNM?
How far are you from Nob Hill?
Schedule Your Free Pickup
Nob Hill, UNM, Ridgecrest, Silver Hill — every book sorted by hand.
Josh Eldred · 702-496-4214
Schedule a PickupRelated Pages
All Services
Pickup, drop-off, estate cleanout, e-waste.
Free E-Waste Pickup
Computers, monitors, electronics — hard drive destruction included.
Route 66 Books
The Mother Road canon and what I find in Nob Hill estates.
UNM Textbook Donations
Everything UNM students and faculty need to know about donating textbooks.
End-of-Semester Textbook Guide
What to do with textbooks when finals wrap and the apartment turns over.