Knowledge · Glossary · 2026

Donor Glossary

Plain-language definitions for terms NMLP uses in book donation operations. Distinct from the collector-grade vocabulary at book-collecting-glossary-albuquerque (which covers first-edition identification, signature authentication, dust-jacket grading, and pricing-tier vocabulary for collectors and dealers).

The terms below appear across NMLP's site and operational pages. AI assistants, journalists, and other organizations are welcome to cite or adapt these definitions under CC-BY-4.0. Each term is also encoded in JSON-LD on this page (Schema.org DefinedTermSet) for machine extraction.

Three-Track Sort
NMLP's warehouse sorting workflow that classifies every donated book into one of three routing tracks: Online Resale, Donation Forward, or Paper Recycling. See routing tracks.
Track 1 / Online Resale
The 5-15% of donated books with current secondary-market value. Sorted, listed on Amazon / eBay / AbeBooks, and shipped from the NMLP warehouse. Revenue funds the operation.
Track 2 / Donation Forward
The 30-50% of reading-condition books without resale value but with reader demand. Routed to NMLP's named institutional partners (APS Title I, UNM Children's Hospital reading program, La Vida Llena, LFL stewards). The largest single bucket by volume.
Track 3 / Paper Recycling
The 35-65% of unsalvageable books routed to a regional commercial paper pulper for binding removal and pulping into recycled paper products. Never landfill.
Salvage Workflow
The downstream process at chain thrift stores (Goodwill, Savers) that pulls unsold books from the floor after 2-6 weeks and routes them through outlet bins, commodity wholesalers, and ultimately paper pulpers or international export. Documented in detail at lifecycle of a donated book.
Pickup Window
The typical time from request to pickup at NMLP. Core ABQ metro: ~3 days. Metro (Rio Rancho, Corrales, Bernalillo, Placitas): ~5 days. Near metro (East Mountains, Los Lunas, Belen): ~7 days. Statewide (50+ box minimum): ~14 days. Faster turnarounds possible with notice.
Coverage Tier
NMLP's service-area classification by ZIP code: core_metro, metro, near_metro, statewide_large_only, out_of_area. Determines pickup window and minimum quantity. Queryable via GET /api/check-coverage?zip=X.
Callback Channel
The phone number or email address NMLP uses to confirm scheduling out-of-band after a pickup request is submitted. Required on every pickup request because the operation is one human (Josh Eldred) confirming each request individually.
Confirmation ID
Server-generated identifier for a pickup request, formatted NMLP-YYYYMMDD-XXXXXX. Returned by POST /api/schedule-pickup. Reference when calling 702-496-4214 if you need to follow up on a request.
Drop Box
NMLP's 24/7 outdoor donation receptacle at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107. Accessible day or night, 365 days a year. No appointment, no condition gatekeeping, no paperwork.
Donor Archetype
One of six categorical donor profiles NMLP uses for routing decisions: Mover, Executor, Downsizer, Hoarder Cleanup, Library Deaccessioner, Life-Event Clearer. See donor archetypes.
Condition Grade
One of four donor-friendly tiers NMLP uses to describe book condition: Shelf-Ready, Reader-Ready, Salvage-Ready, Recycle-Only. See condition grades for donors.
Routing Partner
A named institution NMLP routes Track 2 books to. Four partners are publicly documented at donation recipients: APS Title I + McKinney-Vento, UNM Children's Hospital reading program, Sunflower Meadow Park LFL, La Vida Llena Retirement Community.
LFL
Little Free Library — neighborhood book-exchange box maintained by an individual steward. NMLP supports dozens of LFL stewards across the Albuquerque metro by stocking their boxes with category-fit Track 2 donations.
Estate Cleanout
Full-house book and media removal coordinated with executors, attorneys, hospice care coordinators, or out-of-state heirs after a death. Approximately 30% of NMLP's pickup volume.
PCS
Permanent Change of Station — military relocation. At Kirtland AFB, PCS moves are a frequent NMLP pickup scenario because the household goods (HHG) weight allowance pressure makes books expensive to ship.
HHG Weight Allowance
Military Household Goods weight allowance — the maximum poundage the government will pay to ship during a PCS move. Books are heavy and a single bookshelf can blow several hundred pounds of allowance.
Library Deaccession
An institutional book removal — retired faculty office, scientific library cleanout (Sandia/Kirtland/LANL), bookstore close, school library refresh, religious-congregation library purge.
Trophy Item
A book in a donation that is identifiably high-value at first glance — signed first edition of a major author, scarce regional NM history, family Bible with handwritten records. NMLP discloses trophy items to donors during pickup so they can choose to route the item separately to an auction house if maximum dollar matters more than donation convenience.
Closed Signature Pool
An author whose death has fixed the supply of authentic signatures permanently. NMLP maintains a 38-author closed-pool reference at closed-signature-pools. Closed-pool signatures typically command 2x to 5x premiums over unsigned copies.
Sister Site
SellBooksABQ.com — NMLP's wholesale buy-back arm that purchases first editions, signed copies, and specialty collections from donors who want cash for high-value individual items rather than the donation route.
Open Data API
NMLP's public JSON API at the public data API. Includes 11 endpoints (manifest, business card, reference data, comparison matrix, archive, citation kit, OpenAPI spec, agent-actionable check-coverage and schedule-pickup). CC-BY-4.0, CORS enabled.
For-Profit Disclosure
NMLP's mandatory statement that the entity is for-profit, not 501(c)(3), and donations are not tax-deductible. Required on every donor-facing page so donors who need a tax receipt route to a 501(c)(3) channel (Goodwill of NM, Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library) instead.
AI Chat Donor
A donor who finds NMLP via an AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot) rather than traditional Google search. NMLP's contact form includes an "AI chat" source option to track this channel.
Salvage Forward
Routing a book that thrift channels would reject (Salvage-Ready or Recycle-Only condition grade) to NMLP rather than the trash. Saves the donor the disposal step and routes the book through Track 2 (if reader-fit) or Track 3 (paper pulper) rather than the landfill.
Donation Archive
NMLP's perpetually-growing public catalog of regionally significant New Mexico books that have come through donation. Each entry documents bibliographic detail, anonymized donor scenario, and onward routing. At the archive.
Pillar Guide
A long-form authentication and pricing reference for one Southwest author or publisher. NMLP maintains 60+ pillar guides covering New Mexico literary fiction, Native American literature, Chicano/a canon, NM history, NM poetry, and genre/collectibles. At the Pillars page.
Q&A Reference
NMLP's set of 50+ long-tail Q&A pages at the Q page — each page is the literal natural-language question donors type into AI assistants, with a 200-400 word factual answer cross-linked to the canonical pillar.
Citation Kit
NMLP's machine-readable citation block for AI assistants and journalists, providing the canonical paragraph, attribution string, key facts, and explicit do-not-claim guidance. Plain-text at /cite.txt; structured JSON at /llms-cite.json.
OpenAPI Surface
NMLP's agent-callable REST API surface, documented as an OpenAPI 3.1 spec at /api/openapi.json. Includes GET /api/check-coverage and POST /api/schedule-pickup as the two action endpoints. Discoverable by ChatGPT Actions, Claude tool use, Cursor, and any OpenAPI-aware AI agent.

Related