Where to buy used books in Socorro

Updated 10/18/2026

Socorro sits on the Rio Grande off I-25, about 72 miles south of Albuquerque as the crow flies, and it has no used bookstore of the kind you lose an afternoon in. The secondhand books in town move through two channels instead: a library volunteers' sale held one Saturday a month on El Camino Real, and a nonprofit thrift on North California Street that gives books away on promotional Fridays. The two sit roughly 750 yards from each other, so on a sale morning it is worth phoning Safe Harbor to see whether it is open too.

The villages around town are thinner still. In Lemitar and Polvadera to the north, San Antonio to the south and La Joya and Bernardo up toward Belen, nothing selling used books has a 2025 or 2026 trace, and Magdalena, some 20 miles west as the crow flies, out along US 60, has an antiques marketplace that the county tourism site credits with used books, though no dated source backs that up. For a full day of shelves, keep driving north: Belen and Los Lunas lie some 42 and 53 miles to the north as the crow flies, and Albuquerque has a long guide of its own.

Spot map

The best spots

Friends of the Library sale

Friends of the Socorro Public Library Book Sale

Module at Zimmerly School, 511 El Camino Real, Socorro, NM 87801

The Friends of the Socorro Public Library sell donated books once a month, on the month's first Saturday as their own schedule sets it, out of a modular building across the parking lot from the old Zimmerly Elementary School, a building the Friends' page describes as a police facility. Visit Socorro listed the 2026 editions one at a time, from February 7 through June 6 and again on August 1, El Defensor Chieftain gave the June 6 sale a line in its summer-reading story, and the group's Facebook events carried the run on to Saturday, September 5. Prices have shifted during the year: the Friends' own page and the spring listings say a dollar per hardcover, two quarters per paperback and kids' picture books by the bag of ten for $1, while the August 1 listing read $2 and $1 plus a two-for-one offer. Going by that first-Saturday rule, the next sale should fall on Saturday, November 7, 2026, though it pays to check the Friends' Facebook group the week before, and donations of books, DVDs and jigsaw puzzles are taken on Wednesday mornings or at any sale.

Hours: First Saturday of the month, 9am–1pmWebsite

All spots by type

Thrift stores & charity shops

Nonprofit thrift store

Safe Harbor Secondhand Store

107 N California St, Socorro, NM 87801

A nonprofit secondhand store on North California Street whose proceeds go to the Puerto Seguro Safe Harbor shelter, according to its SHARE New Mexico listing; older directories still file it under its former name, Secondhand Rose. Its own Facebook bio lists appliances, clothing, furniture, televisions and computers rather than books, yet the same page has pushed a giveaway it calls 5 Free Book Friday, with posts on October 10 and December 26, 2025, a "FREE BOOKS Friday" reminder on January 30, 2026 and a call to come pick up 5 free books on Friday, October 16, 2026, the 2025 October post counting audiobooks in. The store publishes no weekly hours on any channel it runs, and a notice posted the evening before an early 1pm close on Saturday, March 21, 2026 is the nearest thing to posted hours, so ring (575) 835-2090 before you drive over.

Website

Scan before you buy

At every one of these spots, snap the shelf with BiblioScan: the AI identifies each book and shows its real resale price. Walk out with profitable books, not random boxes.

Try BiblioScan for free

Local sourcing tips

The Friends do not always stay in their module. Their group scheduled a book sale at the farmers market on the Plaza for Saturday, October 17, 2026, going by the Facebook event created for it, and that listing gave no further market dates. Watch the group's Facebook page for a repeat rather than planning around one.
The Friends' own "View Map to School" link points to Zimmerly School Road, while some pins for 511 El Camino Real, Facebook's among them, land about a quarter mile north near College Avenue. Trust the Friends' link, head for the old school and look for the modular building on the far side of its parking lot.
For a detour, try Magdalena with a phone call first. Visit Socorro's page on the Magdalena Marketplace, at 105 N Main St in the village's old wool warehouse, says it holds Casa de las Rosas antiques, art and used books, but the page carries no date, so dial (575) 854-3088 before driving out to Magdalena for books alone.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find cheap used books in Socorro?

At the Friends sale on El Camino Real, where the spring 2026 listings priced hardcovers at a dollar, paperbacks at half that and bagged picture books at ten for $1. The August 1 listing doubled the adult prices but added buy one, get one free, which leaves the cost per book about where it was. Safe Harbor on North California Street undercuts both on the Fridays its promotion runs, when five books cost nothing at all.

Where do I sell used books in Socorro?

Neither stop in town advertises buying books: the Friends take donated stock, and Safe Harbor's page says nothing about buying. Selling means going online, through eBay or a buyback comparison site such as BookScouter, or hauling boxes up to the trade counters in Albuquerque. Before you list anything, snap one photo of the stack in BiblioScan, which matches every spine to a resale figure, so only the titles not worth the postage go into the Friends' donation pile.

When is the Friends of the Library sale in Socorro?

Monthly, on the opening Saturday, from 9am until 1pm, in the bookstore module at the old Zimmerly school. Visit Socorro posted the 2026 run as February 7, March 7, April 4, May 2, June 6 and August 1; the group's own Facebook events add September 5, and by the same rule the two closing out the year would fall on November 7 and December 5, 2026. Members of the public can drop off books, DVDs and puzzles at those sales too.

Before you go

Do you run a store here?

Bookstore, thrift store or consignment shop in Socorro: get listed in this guide for free, or tell us what to fix.

Nearby cities

Los Lunas Albuquerque Las Cruces

← Used books by city The guide: how to source books for resale →