New Mexico State University • Las Cruces, NM

NMSU textbook donations — Las Cruces books welcome

You finished the semester at New Mexico State. The engineering dynamics textbook is collecting dust, the nursing pharmacology manual is taking up shelf space, and that ag economics text isn’t making the trip home to El Paso or Deming with you. I take NMSU textbooks year-round, current editions included — mail them from Las Cruces (donor-paid) or drop them at my 24/7 box in Albuquerque when you’re heading north on I-25. Every book stays in circulation instead of landing in a dumpster.

Call 505-250-3804 Text Josh

Start Your Donation

Ready to donate? Tell me what you have and where it is. From Las Cruces that means donor-paid Media Mail or the 24/7 Albuquerque drop box on a trip in; there’s no pickup in Las Cruces. Any condition, no sorting. Tell me your timeline and I’ll do my best to work with it. Texts go straight to my phone at 505-250-3804.

Prefer to drop off? Open 24/7.

5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A · no appointment

Drop-off details

Last verified September 2026 · Original research by Josh Eldred

New Mexico State University and the Las Cruces corridor

New Mexico State University sits in Las Cruces, about 225 miles south of Albuquerque on I-25. It’s the state’s land-grant university, which means it does things no other institution in New Mexico does. The College of Engineering is one of the largest programs on campus. The College of Health, Education and Social Transformation trains nurses who staff hospitals across the southern half of the state. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences is the backbone of the land-grant mission — animal science, range science, ag economics, horticulture, and everything else that keeps New Mexico’s agricultural industry running. And the College of Business produces accountants, managers, and analysts for a regional economy that needs them.

NMSU enrolls more than twenty thousand students. Many come from southern New Mexico — Las Cruces itself, Dona Ana County, Alamogordo, Deming, Silver City, Truth or Consequences. A significant percentage come from El Paso and the broader Paso del Norte region just across the state line. International students make up a meaningful share of the graduate programs, especially in engineering and agricultural sciences. All of these students accumulate textbooks. At the end of every semester, those books need somewhere to go.

That’s where I come in. The New Mexico Literacy Project is a one-person book operation run by Josh Eldred out of a warehouse at 5445 Edith Blvd NE in Albuquerque. I take donated books — textbooks, personal libraries, faculty collections, anything — and keep them in circulation: resellable titles are listed on Amazon and eBay, children’s and general-interest books I can’t resell I try to rehome through Little Free Libraries and community literacy partners, and what’s left over is recycled. The resale margin funds the whole business. For NMSU students and faculty, the distance is real — 225 miles is not a quick trip — so I’ve built this around two practical options: mail the books via USPS Media Mail from any Las Cruces post office, or drop them at my 24/7 box when you happen to be in Albuquerque for any other reason.

I won’t pretend that driving from Las Cruces to Albuquerque makes sense as a standalone book-donation trip. It doesn’t. But a lot of NMSU people make that I-25 drive regularly — connecting at the Sunport, visiting family in ABQ or Santa Fe, medical specialists, conferences in the metro. The drop box is right off the highway in Albuquerque’s North Valley. Two minutes, no appointment, no one has to be there. And for everyone else, Media Mail from any Las Cruces post office is easy, with postage paid by the donor.

The I-25 corridor: Las Cruces to Albuquerque

If you’ve driven from Las Cruces to Albuquerque, you know the road. North on I-25 through Hatch, past Truth or Consequences, through the desert between T or C and Socorro, through Socorro and Belen, and into the south side of Albuquerque. It’s about three and a half hours in good weather, maybe a little less if you don’t hit construction near Belen. My warehouse at 5445 Edith Blvd NE is in Albuquerque’s North Valley, north of downtown: stay on I-25 through the Big I, take the Montaño Rd exit (228), head west, and turn south on Edith.

The 24/7 drop box is accessible any time. No appointment needed, no one has to be on-site, and someone is at the warehouse from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day if you want a hand unloading. If you’re driving through Albuquerque anyway — to the airport, to a concert, to visit someone, to connect with a flight — swinging by the drop box adds maybe ten minutes to your route depending on where you’re heading. For students who are leaving Las Cruces at the end of the semester and driving north through ABQ on the way to wherever home is, this is particularly convenient. Load the textbooks in the car, stop at Edith Blvd on the way through, and they’re handled.

For everyone else — and honestly, for most NMSU donors — the mail-in option makes more sense. Ship by USPS Media Mail, the post office’s book rate, to New Mexico Literacy Project, 14204 Marquette Dr NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Postage is donor-paid, and Media Mail is slower than Priority Mail but made for exactly this. Pack the books snugly in a sturdy box, tape it well, write the address clearly, and they’ll arrive intact. The donate-by-mail page has the full how-to.

Any Las Cruces post office counter handles Media Mail, including the one closest to campus, and you can also print a Media Mail label online. Bring the box already packed and labeled, and you’re in and out quickly.

If you want help planning the shipment, text 505-250-3804 and I’ll help you work out box count and packing. No cost, no obligation. Books beyond textbooks, like a retiring professor’s personal library or a shelf of Southwest titles, are welcome in the same shipment, and every donated book is sorted by hand.

College of Engineering textbooks

The NMSU College of Engineering is one of the largest programs on campus, with departments in civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering plus a computer science program. Engineering fundamentals don’t change much between editions: a textbook on thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, or circuit analysis teaches the same core physics and math whether it’s the fourth edition or the seventh. Publishers add problems and update examples, but the underlying content is stable, which is why engineering textbooks keep getting used long after the course ends.

So don’t assume an older edition is finished. An NMSU student who worked through Dynamics with the Meriam and Kraige textbook three years ago might figure it’s useless now that a new edition is out. It isn’t: somewhere a student needs that material and can’t justify buying new. And if your copy is the current edition, still on this semester’s syllabus, it’s every bit as welcome.

The categories I see most often from NMSU engineering students: statics and dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, materials science, circuit analysis, signals and systems, control systems, structural analysis, geotechnical engineering, and the various design-course textbooks. The math prerequisites — calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, engineering mathematics — come through often too, along with FE exam review books and the upper-division texts from senior year.

Chemical engineering textbooks come through as well: transport phenomena, reaction engineering, process design, and thermodynamics of chemical processes, plus Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, Smith, Van Ness, and Abbott, and Fogler. Current edition or an older one, bring them.

Computer science books are welcome in every flavor: the algorithms, data structures, and theory of computation texts that stay relevant for years, and the programming-language books whose ecosystem has already moved on. I take them all and sort them on my end.

If you’re an NMSU engineering graduate sitting on a shelf of textbooks from your four or five years in the program, that collection still has real use in it. Don’t let it sit in a garage for another decade. Mail it or bring it to the 24/7 box, and text 505-250-3804 with any questions about shipping. The books go back into circulation where students can use them.

College of Health, Education and Social Transformation: nursing and allied health textbooks

NMSU’s nursing program trains a significant share of the nurses who staff hospitals and clinics across southern New Mexico. Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, MountainView Regional Medical Center, and hospitals in Alamogordo, Deming, and Silver City all rely on NMSU nursing graduates. The program is competitive, the coursework is intense, and the reading list is long.

Nursing textbooks cycle editions quickly because clinical guidelines change — medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology, pathophysiology, maternal-child, pediatric, and mental health nursing all turn over. A prior-edition nursing text still teaches anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology, though, and students reviewing for the NCLEX and working nurses who want a reference on the shelf keep using them. This semester’s editions are welcome too.

The pharmacology books come in two kinds. Nursing students often buy a drug guide — the Davis Drug Guide or the Mosby’s — on top of the main pharmacology textbook. The guides update every year, while the core textbooks that teach mechanisms, classifications, and nursing implications stay useful longer because the underlying science is stable. Bring both; I sort them on my end.

Beyond nursing, the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation produces graduates in public health, social work, communication disorders, and counseling psychology. Public health epidemiology texts, biostatistics textbooks, the DSM for social work and counseling students, speech-language pathology manuals: all welcome. The DSM-5-TR in particular keeps getting used, because it’s required across several programs and in clinical practice after graduation.

Communication disorders textbooks — speech-language pathology, audiology — deserve a mention. NMSU has an accredited speech-language pathology program, and the textbooks for those clinical courses are specialized. Aphasia manuals, articulation and phonology texts, language development textbooks, and swallowing disorders guides are hard for the next student to find used, because relatively few programs teach them, so they’re especially welcome here.

If you’re finishing your nursing degree, your MSW, your public health MPH, or your speech-language pathology program at NMSU, your stack of textbooks still has plenty of use left in it, including the titles the campus bookstore won’t take back. Donate through NMLP and the books keep circulating. Text 505-250-3804 with any questions about mailing them.

College of Business textbooks

NMSU’s College of Business offers programs in accounting, finance, management, marketing, and information systems. The textbooks follow the same pattern as most college business programs: principles of accounting, managerial accounting, business statistics, organizational behavior, marketing management, corporate finance, and business law. Publishers cycle these editions frequently, because even small changes to tax codes, financial regulations, or business case studies justify a new edition in the publisher’s view.

Current-edition business textbooks are welcome here: an introductory accounting text on this semester’s syllabus is exactly what the next student in a big intro course is looking for. Older editions come too. What I find with NMSU business textbooks is that most students hold onto them for a semester or two after the course ends, then clear them out during a move or a cleanout. Whenever that happens, the drop box and the mail-in address take them.

Finance textbooks come through often: Brealey, Myers, and Allen, or Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan for corporate finance, plus investments, derivatives and options, and financial modeling books. CPA and CFA review sets are welcome right alongside them.

Information systems and business analytics textbooks are a growing category. As NMSU’s business program has added more data-driven coursework, students accumulate texts on database management, business intelligence, data analytics, and information security. Technology moves fast in these fields, so bring current and older editions alike and let me sort them.

The simple approach for NMSU business students: box the whole shelf, current editions included, and donate it in one go. No line to stand in, no sorting, no deciding which book goes where. Between the mail-in address and the drop box, nothing has to end up in a dumpster.

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences: the land-grant core

This is what makes NMSU different from every other university in the state. As New Mexico’s land-grant institution, NMSU has programs that don’t exist anywhere else in the state — and the textbooks that come out of those programs reflect that specialization. Animal science, range science, agricultural economics, horticulture, entomology, plant pathology, soil science, fish and wildlife, and food science all produce textbooks that are hard to replace precisely because so few institutions teach these subjects at this level.

Animal science textbooks come through regularly. Texts on livestock nutrition, animal physiology, meat science, reproductive physiology, and animal genetics serve a relatively small number of programs nationwide, so a used copy is hard for the next student to come by. An animal nutrition textbook from NMSU can end up with a student at another land-grant school, and because new editions come out less often than in business or nursing, each edition stays useful longer.

Range science is even more specialized. NMSU’s Department of Animal and Range Sciences trains students who will manage rangelands across the arid West. The textbooks on range ecology, range management, plant identification, and arid-land hydrology have very limited print runs, and there are only a handful of programs in the country that assign them. If you have range science textbooks from NMSU, they’re some of the most welcome books I get.

Agricultural economics textbooks bridge business and agriculture. They cover farm management, ag finance, food systems economics, natural resource economics, and agricultural policy. These texts serve two groups — students in ag economics programs and students in environmental economics or resource management programs at non-land-grant universities. That dual audience keeps even older editions in use.

Horticulture and plant science textbooks from NMSU are relevant to a broad audience. Texts on plant physiology, soil science, irrigation management, and arid-land agriculture speak to a specific regional expertise that NMSU has built over decades. The chile pepper research program has produced specialized publications of its own, and they’re welcome alongside the textbooks. General horticulture and botany texts find new readers easily.

Entomology and plant pathology textbooks round out the ag science category. These are specialized, and they stay useful because the taxonomy and biology they teach don’t change rapidly between editions. An entomology identification guide or a plant pathology diagnostic manual from two editions ago is still useful to a student learning to identify insects or diagnose crop diseases.

If you’re an ag science graduate from NMSU, don’t throw those textbooks away: the specialization that makes these programs unique also makes the books hard for the next student to find. Mail them or bring them to the 24/7 box, and text 505-250-3804 with any questions about shipping.

Two ways to donate NMSU textbooks from Las Cruces

Pickup doesn’t reach Las Cruces, so from here there are two simple routes. Both take every edition in any condition, this semester’s included, and neither needs an appointment.

Mail them from Las Cruces

Best for: most NMSU and DACC donors, and anyone not heading to Albuquerque soon. Box the textbooks and ship them by USPS Media Mail from any Las Cruces post office to New Mexico Literacy Project, 14204 Marquette Dr NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123.

What it costs you: the postage. Shipping is donor-paid; I don’t reimburse it, and I never buy books. Resale of donated textbooks is what funds the operation.

Details: packing tips and what Media Mail covers are on the donate-by-mail page. Text 505-250-3804 if you want help planning box count.

The 24/7 drop box in Albuquerque

Best for: anyone already driving north on I-25 for a flight, a family visit, or a move. The box is covered and waterproof, outside the gate near the road at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, free, and open around the clock.

If it’s full: please don’t leave boxes beside it. Text 505-250-3804, or come between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., when someone is at the warehouse to help unload.

Advantage: no window, no edition restrictions, no condition minimum. Drop the whole stack in a couple of minutes and get back on the road.

Buyback counters take time and only want a narrow list of current titles; either of these routes takes the entire stack, current editions and old ones together, any week of the year.

Cleaning out in July, or found a box of old textbooks in October? Both routes work year-round. The drop box is always open, Media Mail runs whenever the post office does, and the phone number is always 505-250-3804.

End-of-semester timing at NMSU

The two big turnover windows at New Mexico State are May and December, same as everywhere else. Finals wrap up, apartments turn over, and a semester’s worth of textbooks needs to go somewhere. The May window is usually bigger because it includes graduating seniors who are clearing out completely — not just shuffling between semesters but leaving Las Cruces for good.

Here’s the timing reality for NMSU students: there’s no deadline on donating. You can ship or drop books any time. But if you want the books out of your life before you leave Las Cruces for the summer, planning ahead by a few days makes everything smoother.

The scenario I see most often from NMSU: a student finishes finals on Thursday, has to be out of their apartment by Saturday, and suddenly realizes they have three boxes of textbooks accumulated over four or five years. Now what? If you’re driving north on I-25, load the boxes in the car and drop them at 5445 Edith Blvd NE when you pass through Albuquerque. If you’re staying in Las Cruces, box them up and ship them from the post office. Either way, the books are handled and you’re not hauling them wherever you’re going next.

December is similar but the weather is less of a factor on the southern I-25 corridor than it is up north. The drive from Las Cruces to Albuquerque in December is generally fine — you’re in the desert most of the way. It’s really only the last stretch from Belen into ABQ where winter weather occasionally becomes an issue.

Summer sessions produce a smaller wave of textbook turnover but it still happens. Graduate students finishing summer research, nursing students completing clinical rotations, engineering students wrapping up co-op terms — all generate textbooks that need somewhere to go. The 24/7 drop box and the phone number work the same in July as they do in May.

International students at NMSU

NMSU has a substantial international student population, particularly in engineering and agricultural science graduate programs. Students come from India, Mexico, China, Nigeria, Colombia, and dozens of other countries to study at New Mexico State. When those students finish their programs — whether it’s an MS in electrical engineering, a PhD in agronomy, or an MBA — they face a logistical problem that domestic students don’t: you cannot economically ship heavy textbooks overseas. Shipping a box of engineering textbooks overseas is rarely practical. Checked luggage on international flights has weight limits and overage fees that make bringing twenty pounds of textbooks home irrational.

The result is predictable. International students leave their textbooks behind. They give them to friends who are staying another year, they leave them in the graduate student office, or they put them on the free shelf at the library and hope someone takes them. Often they end up in the dumpster during apartment cleanout. This is a waste, because graduate-level engineering and ag science textbooks are exactly what the next cohort of students needs.

The process is simple. Before you leave Las Cruces, box up your textbooks and ship them via USPS Media Mail to New Mexico Literacy Project, 14204 Marquette Dr NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Postage is donor-paid, and it beats the dumpster. If you’re flying out of the Sunport in Albuquerque rather than El Paso, you can drop the books at the 24/7 box on your way to the airport. Either way, the books go back into circulation for the next generation of students.

Graduate-level textbooks are especially welcome because they have smaller print runs and more specialized content than undergraduate texts, so the next graduate student has a harder time finding a used copy. The same goes for graduate-level ag science texts, advanced nursing theory, and PhD-level research methods textbooks.

If you’re an international student at NMSU preparing to leave after graduation, don’t throw your textbooks away. Text 505-250-3804 and I’ll explain the shipping logistics and make sure those books continue circulating instead of ending up in a Las Cruces landfill.

NMSU faculty retirement libraries

New Mexico State has professors who’ve been there for thirty or forty years. A faculty member who started teaching mechanical engineering in the 1990s and retires in 2026 has accumulated an office library that represents the entire evolution of their field. Academic press monographs, conference proceedings, journal runs, personally inscribed copies from colleagues, instructor editions of every textbook they ever assigned, and the reference works they consulted for research over three decades.

When an NMSU professor retires or a department reorganizes office space, that library has to go somewhere. The Zuhl Library has its own collection priorities and typically can’t absorb a retiring professor’s personal collection. The department usually doesn’t have room. The books end up in boxes in a garage or, increasingly, in the recycling bin because sorting them feels like too much trouble.

You don’t have to sort them. An engineering professor’s library typically includes technical monographs from academic publishers. A nursing professor who ran clinical courses for twenty years has a shelf of reference texts, assessment manuals, and clinical guides that working nurses and graduate students still use. An ag science professor’s collection often includes field guides, USDA publications, extension bulletins, and specialized texts that are hard to find anywhere else. All of it is welcome.

The process for faculty libraries is straightforward. I take the whole collection. No cherry-picking, no sorting on your end. You don’t need to separate textbooks from monographs or instructor editions from personal copies. I handle all of that on my end, and inscribed copies get individual attention. Readable books go back to readers, some are resold to fund the operation, and nothing goes to the landfill.

Pickup doesn’t reach Las Cruces — it covers only the Albuquerque metro. For a large faculty library, ten boxes or more, the routes are the same: donor-paid Media Mail in batches, or a loaded vehicle on a trip north to the 24/7 box. For a big drop-off, come between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. so someone can help you unload.

If you’re an NMSU faculty member thinking about retirement, or a department chair dealing with an office cleanout after someone has left, call or text 505-250-3804. I’ll talk through the shipping or drop-off logistics with you and help you plan the box count. Either way, the books end up sorted, circulated, and out of your way.

DACC textbooks: Dona Ana Community College

Dona Ana Community College is part of the NMSU system, with campuses spread across Las Cruces and southern Dona Ana County. DACC serves a different student population than the main NMSU campus — more workforce-oriented, more part-time students, more students transitioning from high school or returning to education after time in the workforce. But the textbook problem is the same: books accumulate, semesters end, and students need somewhere to put them.

DACC programs that produce textbooks I handle regularly: allied health (medical assisting, radiologic technology, respiratory therapy), criminal justice, business administration, nursing prerequisites (anatomy and physiology, microbiology, chemistry), general education (composition, psychology, sociology, history), and the various technical programs. Allied health textbooks are especially welcome, because those programs exist at community colleges nationwide and use similar core texts, so a copy from DACC can serve the next student almost anywhere.

The anatomy and physiology textbooks deserve special mention. Virtually every student headed into nursing, dental hygiene, physical therapy, or any allied health field takes two semesters of A&P. The textbooks are widely adopted, so a current-edition A&P text goes straight to the next student, and prior editions stay useful because the anatomy doesn’t change — what changes between editions is mostly the visual presentation and the digital extras. Students studying for the HESI or the TEAS keep using a prior-edition A&P text as a study reference.

Criminal justice textbooks from DACC are another consistent category. Introduction to criminal justice, criminology, corrections, policing, juvenile justice — these texts cycle through editions regularly but the content changes slowly enough that prior editions remain useful for self-study and review. DACC produces a lot of criminal justice graduates who go into law enforcement and corrections across southern New Mexico, and the textbooks from those programs keep getting used long after the course.

If you’re a DACC student or graduate with textbooks you no longer need, the same options available to NMSU students apply to you. Mail from Las Cruces via Media Mail, drop at the 24/7 box when you’re in Albuquerque, or text 505-250-3804 with any questions. I don’t distinguish between NMSU and DACC texts in terms of what I accept — all books are welcome, all conditions, any time of year.

Common scenarios I see from NMSU and DACC donors

The graduating senior

You just walked at graduation. Your apartment lease ends next week. You have four years of engineering textbooks stacked in a closet, a few current editions and a lot of older ones, and nowhere to put them in your next apartment in Phoenix or Denver. Box them all up and ship them from the Las Cruces post office via Media Mail to New Mexico Literacy Project, 14204 Marquette Dr NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123. Or if you’re driving north through ABQ on the way out of New Mexico, drop them at the 24/7 box. One stop solves the whole problem, and those engineering texts will circulate through students at other universities for years to come.

The international student leaving after graduation

You finished your MS in electrical engineering. Your flight home is in two weeks. The twenty-five pounds of graduate textbooks on your shelf won’t fit in your luggage without baggage fees. Ship them via donor-paid Media Mail before you leave Las Cruces; it takes a few minutes at the post office. Or drop them at the 24/7 box on the way to the Sunport if you’re flying out of Albuquerque. Those graduate engineering texts will keep serving students after you’re home.

The retiring professor

You taught animal science at NMSU for thirty-two years. Your office has six shelves of books plus another four boxes under the desk. The department needs the office cleared by August. The library doesn’t want most of what you have. Your spouse has made it clear this isn’t coming home. Pickup covers only the Albuquerque metro, so this is a mail-in job in batches or a loaded car on a trip north to the 24/7 box; text 505-250-3804 and I’ll help you plan it. I take the whole library — the textbooks, the monographs, the inscribed copies from colleagues, the USDA bulletins, everything. No sorting required on your end. Every item gets sorted and routed by hand on my side.

The department cleanout

You’re the department administrator for the College of Engineering. Three offices just turned over. There are fifteen boxes of books in the hallway that need to go somewhere by Monday or Facilities is going to recycle them. Call or text 505-250-3804 and I’ll help you plan the shipping; pickup doesn’t reach Las Cruces, so it’s donor-paid Media Mail or a vehicle headed north to the 24/7 box. Decades of academic press texts, out-of-print technical monographs, reference works: all welcome, with no sorting on your end.

The parent helping with move-out

Your kid just graduated from NMSU nursing. You’re in Las Cruces with an SUV helping load the apartment. There are two boxes of nursing textbooks, anatomy atlases, and pharmacology guides that your daughter says she doesn’t need anymore. Don’t throw them away — the next nursing cohort needs exactly these books. If you’re driving north through Albuquerque on the way home, drop them at the 24/7 box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE. It’s right off I-25 in the North Valley. Takes two minutes and you’re back on the road. Or ship them from any Las Cruces post office before you leave town.

The 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE

The drop box is the backbone of how I work with donors outside the Albuquerque metro. It’s at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107 — in the North Valley, accessible from I-25 without fighting downtown traffic. It’s open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year. No appointment needed, no one has to be on-site. The box is covered and waterproof and sits outside the gate near the road. Drive up, unload your boxes, and leave; someone is at the warehouse from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day if you’d like help.

For NMSU and DACC donors who are already on I-25 for some other reason, this is the easiest possible handoff. You’re driving from Las Cruces to Santa Fe for a conference? Stop at the drop box on the way through ABQ. You’re heading to the Sunport for a flight? The drop box is a quick detour. You’re visiting family in the North Valley or Los Ranchos? You’re practically there already. The point is that this doesn’t have to be a dedicated trip. It works as an add-on to something you’re already doing.

A few practical notes: the box takes standard book boxes and bags. If it’s full, or you have more than it holds, please don’t leave anything beside it; text 505-250-3804, or come between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., when someone at the warehouse can take the rest. For a very large drop, ten boxes or more, that 8-to-3 window is the easy way to do it.

The most common pattern I see from NMSU donors: a graduating student or a parent loads up the car, drives north on I-25, and stops at the drop box on the way through Albuquerque. The books are out of the car, out of their life, and on their way back into circulation. It’s the simplest version of the handoff and it works for people who are already traveling the I-25 corridor.

What happens to your NMSU textbooks after donation

Every book that comes in gets sorted by hand, one at a time, and routed to one of three places.

Books the next reader is looking for are resold on Amazon and eBay; that’s where many engineering, nursing, ag science, and current-edition business books land. The resale funds the entire business. It pays the warehouse rent, covers the vehicle costs for pickups, and supports the community donation partnerships.

Readable books that won’t resell go to community literacy partners and Little Free Libraries across the Albuquerque metro. General education textbooks, humanities texts, and readable nonfiction often land here. They’re useful to someone, and that’s the point.

Books no reader can use — damaged beyond use, water-ruined, or falling apart — go to a regional paper recycler. The fiber gets reused. No book goes to the landfill.

Frequently asked questions: NMSU textbook donations

Can I donate NMSU textbooks without driving to Albuquerque?

Yes. Donor-paid USPS Media Mail from any Las Cruces post office is the most practical option for most NMSU donors. Ship to New Mexico Literacy Project, 14204 Marquette Dr NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123; the donate-by-mail page has packing tips. If you’re driving north on I-25 for any other reason, the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE is a short hop off the highway.

Is there free pickup in Las Cruces?

No. Free pickup covers only the Albuquerque metro. From Las Cruces, mail your textbooks to me (postage is donor-paid) or bring them to the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE the next time you’re in Albuquerque.

Does NMLP pay cash for NMSU textbooks?

No. NMLP is a donation operation: I never buy textbooks and never pay for books. Every edition is welcome as a donation, this semester’s included, along with older editions, electives, supplementary readings, and prior-edition STEM texts. Every donated book is sorted by hand, and resale of donated titles is what funds the business.

Which NMSU textbooks do you take?

All of them, in any condition. Engineering (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical) and computer science texts, nursing and health sciences books, business and accounting texts, and agricultural science textbooks from animal science, range science, and ag economics are especially welcome, current editions included. Graduate-level texts are welcome too, since the next graduate student has a hard time finding them used.

I’m an international student leaving NMSU. What should I do with my textbooks?

Ship them via donor-paid USPS Media Mail before you leave Las Cruces; it takes a few minutes at the post office. If you’re flying out of the Albuquerque Sunport, you can also drop them at the 24/7 box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE on your way to the airport. Don’t throw them away — graduate-level engineering and ag science textbooks still have plenty of use for the next student. Text 505-250-3804 with any shipping questions before you leave.

Do you accept DACC textbooks?

Yes. Dona Ana Community College textbooks follow the same process. Allied health, criminal justice, nursing prerequisites (anatomy and physiology, microbiology, chemistry), business, and general education texts from DACC are all welcome. Same shipping address, same drop box, same phone number. I don’t distinguish between NMSU and DACC texts in terms of what I accept.

Do you accept faculty retirement libraries from NMSU?

Yes. I take the whole library, with no sorting required on your end: textbooks, academic press monographs, inscribed copies, and specialized technical references. Pickup covers only the Albuquerque metro, so from Las Cruces it’s donor-paid Media Mail or a trip to the 24/7 drop box; for a big load, come between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. so someone can help unload.

What’s the best time of year to donate NMSU textbooks?

Any time works — I accept donations year-round. The natural peaks are May and December when semesters end, but there’s no window you need to hit. If you’re cleaning out in July, find a box of old textbooks in October, or retire mid-semester, the drop box and the mail-in option are available every day of the year. Text 505-250-3804 whenever you’re ready and I’ll help you figure out the best approach for your situation.

Should I drive 225 miles from Las Cruces to Albuquerque just to donate books?

As a standalone trip, probably not. But if you’re already making the drive — airport, family visit, medical appointment, anything — the drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE is a short hop off I-25. For most Las Cruces donors, donor-paid USPS Media Mail is the more practical dedicated option. The key point: you don’t have to choose between driving and mailing. Use whichever fits your schedule.

More textbook donation guides

Donate Textbooks in Albuquerque

The main guide to how textbook donations work across New Mexico.

Medical & Nursing Textbooks

For NMSU nursing and health sciences textbooks specifically.

End-of-Semester Textbook Guide

What to do with textbooks when finals wrap and you move out.

Ready to donate your NMSU textbooks?

Mail from Las Cruces (donor-paid) or drop at the 24/7 box in Albuquerque. Every edition is welcome, and every book stays in circulation.

Call 505-250-3804 Email for Logistics

5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107 • 24/7 drop box • USPS Media Mail welcome

Simplest option from Las Cruces: mail the textbooks — donor-paid USPS Media Mail, highlighted and outdated editions welcome. Donate books by mail →