How It Works · Albuquerque
How It Works: Where Your Books Go, and Why NMLP Is a For-Profit
I’m a for-profit business, and that is how I can take any book in any condition, pick it up free, and keep every readable one out of the landfill. Here’s the whole model, in plain language: no fine print, no catch.
“Josh came and picked up a van full of books. He was professional kind so caring and pleasant… I would highly recommend him if you need help finding a home for your books.”
— Susan Smith, Local Guide · ★★★★★ Google review
First, the honest part
The New Mexico Literacy Project is a for-profit small business — not a charity, and donations are not tax-deductible. I lead with that on purpose. Everything else here is the warm part of the story, and I don’t want any of it to feel like a bait-and-switch. You’re giving books to a person who makes a modest living keeping books in circulation. That’s the deal, and I think it’s a good one.
Request Your Free Pickup
Tell me what you have and where it is. I do the lifting, any condition, no sorting. Texts go straight to my phone at 505-250-3804.
Prefer to drop off? Open 24/7.
The covered box outside the gate, by the road, at 5445 Edith Blvd NE takes books, DVDs, CDs, records, video games and cameras, any hour. Too much for the box? Come 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., when someone is there to help unload.
What happens to the books you give me
I look at every book by hand — no algorithm, no dumpster shortcut. Here’s the path each one takes:
A few books get sold
A small share of any collection sells to the right reader. Those sales pay for the truck, the gas, the free pickup and the recycling.
The good reading copies go back into circulation
When there’s a place that can use them, they head back out into the world — community literacy partners, Little Free Libraries, readers who’ll actually open them. I can’t promise any single book a particular home, but my whole aim is to keep it in use rather than waste it.
The rest is recycled responsibly
Whatever truly can’t be reused goes to the paper recycler — never to a landfill. That promise is the whole reason I exist.
Want the full breakdown? See where donated books go and the lifecycle of a donated book.
Why it’s built this way
Donation counters can only take what fits their shelves and their volunteers’ time, so the water-damaged box, the encyclopedia set, the third-floor walk-up and the whole-estate cleanout often need another answer. Because I sell the few books that do sell, I can say yes to the rest and do the lifting myself, for free.
So “he sells some of the donations” isn’t the catch. It’s the funding. It’s what pays for the free pickup, the rehoming, and the recycling that keeps your books out of the ground. The for-profit part is the feature, not the fine print.
Not a charity. Still community work.
For-profit and good-for-the-community aren’t opposites. This work helps get free books to kids through community literacy partners and Little Free Libraries, keeps books and paper out of the landfill, and gives people a respectful, no-judgment way to clear out books when they’re moving, downsizing, settling an estate, or just out of shelf space. I make a modest living doing it. The books stay in use. The landfill gets no books.
I’m one person — Josh Eldred — with a truck, a warehouse, and a 24/7 drop box. No crew, no call center, no sorting required on your end. Just a sustainable way to keep books alive and serve the people around me.
How most people end up donating
Almost nobody donates because they want to support a business. They donate because they’ve got a problem and I’m the easiest answer to it: a move, a downsize, an estate, a divorce, a snowbird heading home, a hoarded house, a school clearing its shelves. The books are heavy, cheap to replace, and feel wrong to throw away. I also pick up excess books from a local early-literacy program when the fire marshal has them clear space.
My promise is simple, and it’s the whole reason people call me instead of hauling boxes to a thrift store and hoping the counter takes them:
Free. Any condition. No sorting. I do the lifting. One text, one pickup, and you’re done.
And no readable book you give me hits the landfill. If that’s the situation you’re in, schedule a free pickup or just text me at 505-250-3804.
Frequently asked questions
Is the New Mexico Literacy Project a charity?
No, and I’m always upfront about that. NMLP is a for-profit small business that I run on my own. Your donation isn’t tax-deductible, and I’d never pretend otherwise. What you get instead is convenience a charity usually can’t offer: free pickup, any condition, no sorting, and a guarantee that no readable book ends up in a landfill.
If you’re for-profit, why should I give you my books instead of selling them?
Most used books are worth very little individually — the time and hassle of selling them one by one rarely pays off. I take the whole lot off your hands for free, sort it by hand, and sell only the small share that has real value. That revenue is what funds the free pickup and keeps the rest moving to readers or recycling. Every box is sorted by hand, and rare books are researched before they’re listed.
Where do my donated books actually go?
I look at every book by hand. The ones with resale value are sold; many of the good reading copies are passed on to community literacy partners, Little Free Libraries, and readers who need them when there’s a fit; and whatever can’t be reused is recycled as paper. Never the landfill. There’s a full breakdown on my where donated books go page.
Do you really take books in any condition?
Yes. Water-damaged, highlighted, missing covers, old magazines, encyclopedias — all of it. The for-profit model is exactly what lets me say yes to the boxes a retail thrift shelf or a library sale isn’t built for.
Got books to clear out?
One text, one pickup, any condition — free, and no readable book to the landfill. Or drop them at the 24/7 box anytime; it never closes.
24/7 Drop Box: outside the gate at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107