Can I donate water-damaged books in Albuquerque?

Yes. Water-damaged books are typically rejected at the intake door at Goodwill of New Mexico, Savers, Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library, Habitat ReStore, and Better World Books. The major thrift channels' workflows can't process damaged paper.

NMLP accepts water-damaged books — including basement-flood damage, sprinkler damage, plumbing-leak damage, and ABQ-monsoon damage — in any quantity. The standard sort separates books into salvageable (cleaned and routed to readers), partially salvageable (paper-recycled with care), and unsalvageable (commercial pulper).

Practical guidance: don't try to dry the books yourself or run them through a freezer. Bag them in heavy contractor bags (Husky, Hefty Strong, Glad), label "wet" or "water," and call. The warehouse handles damaged-paper donations with appropriate equipment and ventilation.

If the damage is recent (under 24 hours) and the books are individually high-value (signed firsts, rare regional history, family Bibles with records), call immediately — early intervention can sometimes save the most important volumes.

Free pickup statewide. 702-496-4214.

Musty is not the same as moldy

Most of what donors describe as mold is actually age — nearly all old books smell musty, and a dry musty book is completely normal donation material that sorts into the regular tracks. What changes the handling is visible biological growth: fuzzy or powdery patches on covers or page edges. Those copies go straight to the recycling track, bagged separately so they never sit against salvageable stock, and the glue bindings get stripped so the paper stream stays clean for the regional pulper. If you genuinely cannot tell which you have, text a photo to 702-496-4214 and I will make the call — that beats guessing in either direction. Albuquerque's dry air is on your side here: basement-flood books that would be a biology experiment in a humid state often arrive merely warped.

The first 24 hours decide the most valuable copies

For ordinary reading copies, timing barely matters — bring them whenever. For the books that matter — signed firsts, scarce regional history, a family Bible with the records pages — recent water damage is a race. Within roughly a day there is sometimes real salvage possible; after a week, far less. So if a pipe burst over the good shelf yesterday, call now and say so. Two other things not to do, learned from donors who tried: do not run wet books through a freezer, and do not fan-dry them yourself — both finish the damage in most cases. Bag the wet stack in heavy contractor bags, label it, and let the warehouse handle it with the right setup. The full damaged-condition rundown is at donating damaged books.