New Mexico State University • Las Cruces, NM

NMSU textbook donations — Las Cruces books welcome

Name: New Mexico Literacy Project
Address: 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM, 87107, US
Telephone: 702-496-4214

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. The New Mexico Literacy Project takes NMSU textbooks year-round — mail them from Las Cruces, drop them at my 24/7 box in Albuquerque when you’re heading north on I-25, or call to arrange a pickup if you’re in the ABQ metro. Every book stays in circulation instead of landing in a dumpster.

Call 702-496-4214 Text for Pickup

Last verified May 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 APS Title I schools, 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 the Las Cruces post office is cheap, easy, and gets the job done in a week.

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, so you do have to get through downtown, but if you take I-25 to the Osuna exit you avoid most of the congestion.

The 24/7 drop box is accessible any time. No appointment needed, no one has to be on-site. I check the box daily and process everything that comes in. 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. USPS Media Mail from the Las Cruces post office to 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107. Media Mail rates are specifically designed for books. You can ship a box of ten or twelve textbooks for a few dollars. It’s slower than Priority Mail — three to seven business days — but the cost difference is significant. Pack the books snugly in a sturdy box, tape it well, write the address clearly, and they’ll arrive intact.

The Las Cruces post office on Foster Road, the one on Lohman Avenue, and the University Station post office on Stewart Street near campus all handle Media Mail. The University Station location is probably the most convenient for NMSU students — you can walk there from most parts of campus without needing a car. Bring the box already packed and labeled, and you’re in and out in ten minutes.

If you want to know what you’re working with before you ship, text photos of the book spines to 702-496-4214. I’ll give you a quick evaluation of what’s in the stack and whether anything warrants special handling. No cost, no obligation. Just a fast read so you know what you’ve got before you make the trip to the post office. If you have books beyond textbooks — a retiring professor’s personal library, signed academic press titles, or collectible Southwest volumes — my Las Cruces book buying page covers that process in detail.

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 robust computer science program. Engineering textbooks are among the most expensive books a college student buys, and they hold their value better than almost any other category on the secondary market. The reason is straightforward: 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.

That stability means older-edition engineering textbooks still sell. Not at the same tier as current editions, but they sell consistently because there’s always a student somewhere who needs the material and can’t justify the price of the newest edition. An NMSU student who finished Dynamics with the Meriam and Kraige textbook three years ago might assume it’s worthless now because a new edition came out. It isn’t. Engineering students at other universities are buying those older editions every day because the content is functionally identical to what’s being assigned in their course.

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 — are also common and have similarly strong secondary-market demand. Some of the most valuable individual textbooks I handle are upper-division engineering texts with smaller print runs and higher original prices.

Chemical engineering textbooks deserve specific mention. NMSU has a well-regarded chemical engineering program, and the textbooks — transport phenomena, reaction engineering, process design, thermodynamics of chemical processes — are expensive and hold value exceptionally well. Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook, if you have a reasonably current edition, is a high-value item on the used market. Same with Smith, Van Ness, and Abbott for thermodynamics or Fogler for reaction engineering.

Computer science textbooks are more of a mixed bag. Algorithms, data structures, and theory of computation texts hold value because the content is mathematical and doesn’t change. Programming language textbooks lose value faster because languages evolve, frameworks change, and a Python textbook from five years ago is teaching a noticeably different ecosystem. I take them all, but the CS theory texts are the ones with the strongest resale performance over time.

If you’re an NMSU engineering graduate sitting on a shelf of textbooks from your four or five years in the program, that collection has real residual value. Don’t let it sit in a garage for another decade. Text 702-496-4214 with photos of the spines and I’ll tell you what you’re working with. Everything gets donated on a no-cost basis, and 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 textbooks are expensive.

Nursing textbooks follow a specific pattern on the secondary market. The clinical texts — medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology, pathophysiology, maternal-child nursing, pediatric nursing, mental health nursing — cycle editions relatively quickly because clinical guidelines change. But here’s the thing: even a prior-edition nursing textbook sells. The fundamentals of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology don’t change between editions in ways that make the older text useless for studying. Students who need to review content for the NCLEX, or working nurses who want a reference on their shelf, will buy a prior-edition text at a lower price point rather than pay full price for the current one.

The pharmacology textbooks are particularly interesting. Nursing students often buy supplementary drug guides — the Davis Drug Guide or the Mosby’s — in addition to their main pharmacology textbook. These guides update annually, so older editions lose their clinical utility relatively quickly. But the core pharmacology textbooks that teach mechanisms, classifications, and nursing implications hold value longer because the underlying science is stable. I take both categories and sort the value 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. Each of those programs generates textbooks with secondary-market demand. Public health epidemiology texts, biostatistics textbooks, the DSM for social work and counseling students, speech-language pathology manuals — all of these circulate well through resale channels. The DSM-5-TR in particular holds its value because it’s required across multiple programs and for clinical practice after graduation.

Communication disorders textbooks — speech-language pathology, audiology — are a subcategory worth mentioning. NMSU has an accredited speech-language pathology program, and the textbooks for those clinical courses are specialized and expensive. Aphasia manuals, articulation and phonology texts, language development textbooks, and swallowing disorders guides all have strong demand because there are relatively few programs and the supply of used copies is always limited relative to the number of students who need them.

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 represents real value that the campus bookstore probably won’t fully capture. Donate through NMLP and the books keep circulating. Text 702-496-4214 with photos and I’ll give you a quick evaluation.

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. These books are expensive at the point of purchase and publishers cycle 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 sell well on the secondary market. An introductory accounting textbook that’s currently being assigned at any university in the country has steady demand because those courses have massive enrollment nationwide. The prior edition usually sells at a lower tier. Two editions back, the market thins out. What I find with NMSU business textbooks is that most students hold onto them for a semester or two after the course ends, then decide to clear them out during a move or a cleanout. By that point, the campus bookstore may not be interested because a new edition has dropped.

Finance textbooks deserve specific mention. The core corporate finance texts — Brealey, Myers, and Allen or Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan — have such wide adoption that they move consistently on the used market. Investments textbooks, derivatives and options pricing texts, and financial modeling books similarly have demand beyond what any single campus bookstore can absorb. If you’re an NMSU finance major with a shelf of these, they have more secondary-market value than you might expect.

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. These tend to have shorter shelf lives than traditional business texts because technology changes faster, but current and recent editions sell well.

The smart approach for NMSU business students: try the bookstore buyback during finals week for your current-edition required texts. Take whatever they offer on those. Then donate everything else through NMLP. The books the bookstore declines are exactly the ones I specialize in moving through secondary channels. Between the two outlets, nothing ends 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 have specific, reliable secondary-market demand precisely because so few institutions teach these subjects at this level.

Animal science textbooks are a strong category. Texts on livestock nutrition, animal physiology, meat science, reproductive physiology, and animal genetics serve a relatively small number of programs nationwide, which means the supply of used copies is limited relative to demand. An animal nutrition textbook from NMSU might sell to a student at Texas A&M, Colorado State, or UC Davis. The market is national, and because new editions come out less frequently than in business or nursing, the useful life of each edition is 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 very steady demand. If you have range science textbooks from NMSU, they’re almost certainly worth more than you think on the secondary market, because there are maybe a dozen programs in the country that assign those same texts and the supply of used copies is perpetually thin.

Agricultural economics textbooks bridge business and agriculture. They cover farm management, ag finance, food systems economics, natural resource economics, and agricultural policy. These texts have a dual market — students in ag economics programs and students in environmental economics or resource management programs at non-land-grant universities. That dual demand keeps prices relatively stable even for older editions.

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 alone has produced specialized publications that collectors and industry professionals seek out. General horticulture and botany texts circulate well through standard secondary-market channels.

Entomology and plant pathology textbooks round out the ag science category. These are specialized, expensive, and hold value well because the taxonomy and biology they teach doesn’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, your textbooks are almost certainly more valuable on the secondary market than you realize. The specialization that makes these programs unique also limits the supply of used copies, which keeps prices up. Don’t throw them away. Text 702-496-4214 with photos and I’ll tell you exactly what you’re sitting on.

NMSU Bookstore buyback vs. donating through NMLP

I’m going to be honest about this because there’s no point pretending NMLP is always the best option. The NMSU Bookstore buyback and the New Mexico Literacy Project serve different purposes, and depending on what books you have, one might make more sense than the other.

NMSU Bookstore buyback

Best for: current-edition required textbooks, especially STEM titles, that the bookstore is confident will be assigned again next semester. If the same professor is teaching the same course with the same book, the bookstore wants your copy and will pay for it.

What you get: a percentage of the new price, paid on the spot. The percentage varies by book and by how many copies the bookstore already has in stock. Current-edition engineering and nursing textbooks typically get the best offers because demand is predictable.

Limitation: the bookstore only buys what it knows it can resell to next semester’s students. If the professor changed editions, if the course isn’t running next term, if the bookstore already has enough copies, or if the book is supplementary rather than required, your book gets declined. The buyback window is also limited to finals week and a few days around it.

Donating through NMLP

Best for: everything the bookstore declines. Older editions, elective course textbooks, supplementary readings, engineering texts from two editions back, nursing manuals that have been superseded, ag science books the bookstore already has enough of. Also your entire collection when you don’t want to sort through it yourself.

What you get: nothing financial. NMLP is a donation operation. You get the books off your shelf, out of your apartment, and into circulation through resale channels, community donation partners, and APS Title I schools.

Advantage: no buyback window, no edition restrictions, no condition minimum. I take everything year-round. Mail from Las Cruces, drop at the 24/7 box when you’re in ABQ, or text 702-496-4214 for a pickup in the Albuquerque metro. I handle everything the bookstore can’t or won’t.

The practical approach for most NMSU students: try the bookstore first for your current-edition required texts during finals week. Take whatever they offer on the titles they want. Then donate everything else through NMLP. The books the bookstore declines are exactly the books I specialize in moving through secondary channels. Between the two outlets, nothing has to end up in a dumpster.

One important note: the bookstore buyback only happens during specific windows around finals. If you miss that window — if you’re cleaning out in July, or you find a box of old textbooks in October — I’m available year-round. The drop box is always open. Media Mail works every day. The phone number is always 702-496-4214.

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. If you want to use the bookstore buyback, you need to do it during finals week. The bookstore sets the window and it’s usually tight — a few days of intense activity where they’re buying back specific titles they know they can resell. If you’re donating through NMLP, there’s no deadline. 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. The bookstore buyback window has passed or they didn’t have time to stand in line. 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. International shipping costs for a box of engineering textbooks would exceed the value of the books many times over. 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 have significant secondary-market value that someone should be capturing.

I work with NMSU international students regularly on this. The process is simple. Before you leave Las Cruces, box up your textbooks and ship them via USPS Media Mail to 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107. The shipping cost is minimal compared to the alternative of throwing the books away. 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 into circulation through resale channels that make them available to the next generation of students.

Graduate-level textbooks are particularly valuable because they have smaller print runs and more specialized content than undergraduate texts. A graduate electrical engineering textbook on signal processing or control theory might sell for a higher tier than the equivalent undergraduate text precisely because fewer copies exist in circulation. The same applies to 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. The two minutes it takes to text 702-496-4214 with photos of the spines will tell you what you have. I’ll give you a quick evaluation, 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 nobody thinks they’re worth the trouble of sorting.

They are worth the trouble. I work with faculty libraries regularly, and NMSU retirements produce some of the most interesting collections I see. An engineering professor’s library typically includes technical monographs from academic publishers that have significant collector value. 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 actively seek. An ag science professor’s collection often includes field guides, USDA publications, extension bulletins, and specialized texts that are extremely difficult to find elsewhere.

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 sorting and evaluation on my end. I evaluate signed and inscribed copies individually. The academic press hardcovers go through specialized resale channels. The standard textbooks go through general secondary-market channels. Nothing that has resale or donation value gets discarded.

For large faculty libraries — the kind that fills ten or more boxes — I’ll drive to Las Cruces. The 225-mile trip is justified when the collection is substantial enough to warrant it. For smaller collections, shipping via Media Mail or dropping at the 24/7 box works perfectly well.

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 702-496-4214. I’ll talk through the logistics with you, estimate the size of the collection, and determine whether a Las Cruces trip or a shipping arrangement makes more sense. Either way, the books end up evaluated, 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: expensive 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 in particular have strong secondary-market demand because those programs exist at community colleges nationwide and all use similar core texts.

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 expensive and widely adopted. A current-edition A&P textbook has excellent resale value. Prior editions still sell because the anatomy doesn’t change — what changes between editions is mostly the visual presentation and the supplementary digital materials. Students studying for the HESI or the TEAS will buy a prior-edition A&P text as a study reference without hesitation.

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 have demand across the national secondary market.

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 702-496-4214 with photos for a quick evaluation. 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 and nowhere to put them in your next apartment in Phoenix or Denver. The bookstore took back two of the current-edition titles but declined the other fourteen. Box them up, ship them from the Las Cruces post office via Media Mail to 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107. Or if you’re driving north through ABQ on the way out of New Mexico, drop them at the 24/7 box. Five minutes solves the whole problem. Those engineering texts will circulate through students at other universities who need them 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 aren’t fitting in your luggage without paying baggage fees that exceed the books’ value. You can’t sell them to the bookstore because they’re graduate-level and the bookstore doesn’t stock most of them. Ship them via Media Mail before you leave Las Cruces — it costs very little and takes five 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 have real secondary-market demand and they’ll continue 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. Call 702-496-4214. I’ll assess the collection, and if it’s large enough, I’ll drive to Las Cruces. I take the whole library — the textbooks, the monographs, the inscribed copies from colleagues, the USDA bulletins, everything. No sorting required on your end. I evaluate and route every item individually 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 702-496-4214. I’ll coordinate shipping logistics or, if the collection is substantial, drive down. Engineering department cleanouts often produce the most valuable collections I see — faculty libraries with decades of accumulated academic press texts, out-of-print technical monographs, and reference works that have serious collector demand.

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 — nursing textbooks have excellent secondary-market value. 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. Drive up, unload your boxes, and leave. I check the box daily and process everything that comes in.

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 accommodates standard moving boxes and book boxes. If you have more than what fits in the box itself, you can leave boxes stacked beside it — the area is covered and I check it daily. For very large drops (ten or more boxes), a quick text to 702-496-4214 ahead of time lets me know to expect a big load, but it’s not strictly required. Label the boxes with your name if you want a confirmation text once I’ve processed them, but that’s optional too.

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 into circulation within twenty-four hours. 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 evaluated individually. I don’t sort by appearance or make snap judgments based on the edition number on the spine. I check actual secondary-market demand for each title and route it accordingly. The system works in three tiers.

Books with active secondary-market demand go through resale channels — Amazon, eBay, specialty textbook platforms, and collector markets for signed or rare items. This is where the engineering textbooks, nursing manuals, ag science texts, and current-edition business books typically land. The resale margin from these sales funds the entire business. It pays the warehouse rent, covers the vehicle costs for pickups, and supports the community donation partnerships.

Books with local community demand go to donation partners. APS Title I schools, Little Free Libraries across the Albuquerque metro, community centers, shelters, and other organizations that need books but can’t afford to buy them. General education textbooks, humanities texts, and readable nonfiction often land here. These aren’t high-value resale items but they’re useful to someone, and that’s the point.

Books that have no resale or donation value — damaged beyond use, outdated technical manuals with no secondary demand, water-damaged paperbacks — go to a regional paper recycler. The fiber gets reused. Nothing goes to landfill if there’s any alternative, and for most of what I receive, there is.

Frequently asked questions: NMSU textbook donations

Can I donate NMSU textbooks without driving to Albuquerque?

Yes. USPS Media Mail from any Las Cruces post office is the most practical option for most NMSU donors. Ship to 5445 Edith Blvd NE, Unit A, Albuquerque, NM 87107. Media Mail rates are designed for books — typically a few dollars for a box of textbooks. It takes three to seven business days. If you’re driving north on I-25 for any other reason, the 24/7 drop box at that same address is right off the highway and takes about two minutes.

Does NMLP pay cash for NMSU textbooks?

NMLP is a donation operation. I don’t pay cash for individual textbooks. If you have a current-edition textbook that the NMSU Bookstore wants for next semester, their buyback is the right channel for that specific book. For everything the bookstore declines — older editions, electives, supplementary readings, prior-edition STEM texts — donation through NMLP keeps the books in circulation. I evaluate every book and route titles with market value through resale channels that fund the business.

What types of NMSU textbooks have the strongest secondary-market demand?

Engineering textbooks (mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical) hold value exceptionally well because the fundamental content changes slowly. Nursing and health sciences texts have steady demand because of the nationwide need. Agricultural science textbooks — animal science, range science, ag economics — are valuable precisely because they’re specialized and supply is limited. Graduate-level texts in any field tend to command higher secondary-market tiers than undergraduate introductory texts because of smaller print runs.

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

Ship them via USPS Media Mail before you leave Las Cruces. The shipping cost is minimal and takes five 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 have significant secondary-market value. Text 702-496-4214 with photos for a quick evaluation 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 all have secondary-market value. 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?

Absolutely. Faculty retirements and department cleanouts at NMSU produce some of the most valuable collections I handle. I take the whole library — no sorting required on your end. For large collections that justify the trip, I’ll drive to Las Cruces. Academic press monographs, inscribed copies, and specialized technical references often have significant collector value beyond what standard textbook resale channels capture. Call 702-496-4214 to discuss logistics.

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 702-496-4214 whenever you’re ready and I’ll help you figure out the best approach for your situation.

Is it worth the 225-mile drive 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 right off I-25 and takes two minutes. For most Las Cruces donors, USPS Media Mail is the more practical dedicated option. A box of textbooks costs very little to ship and arrives in three to seven days. The key point: you don’t have to choose between driving and mailing. Use whichever fits your schedule.

Ready to donate your NMSU textbooks?

Mail from Las Cruces, drop at the 24/7 box in Albuquerque, or call for a pickup. Every book stays in circulation.

Call 702-496-4214 Email for Logistics

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