The New York Public Library (NYPL) is back with a parody campaign this Black Friday, touting deals “for the books.”

In its fourth Black Friday campaign, created in-house by the library’s communications team, the NYPL is offering books “more free than ever” with “0% interest loans” and “free returns.”

This year, the tongue-in-cheek campaign also draws attention to the library’s new policy of eliminate all late fines, announced in October.

Digital advertisements shared on social media and emailed to the library’s more than 1.3 million subscribers point out that “library prices have always been right, but now they’re ‘good free’. ads mimic Black Friday retail emails that contain calls to action with the phrases “Show me free” and “Did someone say free?”

Readers who click on it will be taken to a microstatus with information on how to sign up for a library card and “unlock the deal” for free books. The library will also recommend books from its list of over 300 considered to be the Best books of 2021, released earlier this week.

Unlike previous years, the NYPL will not publish a full page New York Times a d.

The campaign aims to remind people of the value libraries can provide with free knowledge, said Tony Marx, president of the New York Public Library in a press release.

“These ads, of course, generate the ever-needed laugh, but they also draw attention to the best offering of any season: public libraries and the worlds of knowledge, adventure, opportunity and fun that they offer to all every day,” he said.“It’s a fun but important reminder that libraries are here and always will be here for everything the public needs – good books, expert recommendations, helpful courses, fascinating programs and, sometimes, a good to laugh.”

Since the decision to waive fines, NYPL visits and traffic have increased 10% in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.

The NYPL launched its Black Friday Spoor campaign in 2018. Since then, each iteration has contributed to spikes in library card signups, web traffic, and donations. In 2020, for example, the campaign generated 543 virtual library card requests, an average daily increase of 84%. Last year, the library also received 130 donations on Black Friday, up from 78 in 2019.