CONTACTS:
Mary Ellen Keating
Corporate Communications
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
(212) 633-3323
mkeating@bn.com

Carolyn J. Brown
Corporate Communications
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
(212) 633-4062
cbrown@bn.com

New York, New York - August 3, 2010 - As college students prepare for fall semester, Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a pioneer in college bookselling, is the first and only major online retailer offering higher education students four textbook options - new, used, rental and digital formats.  This comes as Barnes & Noble today introduced a textbook rental service through BN.com, making the company the first full-service textbook provider to launch such an offering. Today, the company also made available NOOKstudy by Barnes & Noble, its new, free, innovative study platform and software solution that gives college students the freedom and flexibility to access eTextbooks, other digital content and organizational tools to learn more efficiently, collaboratively and across content sources and formats, using technology they already own - their PC or Mac®.

With the online expansion of Barnes & Noble's leading textbook business (www.bn.com/textbooks), college students can now get textbooks any way they want them, and at great savings.  For those that prefer cracking open new textbooks, BN.com offers more than 150,000 titles, with up to a 30 percent savings off list price.  Those students who prefer used textbooks can choose from more than 330,000 titles, and enjoy spectacular savings of up to 90 percent.  The new textbook rental option at BN.com features thousands of the top textbooks at up to a 60 percent discount.  And for the digital set, find thousands of eTextbooks, for use with NOOKstudy, that deliver up to 50 percent savings off new textbooks.
 
"As leaders in the college bookselling arena, we aim to deliver college students the greatest choice, flexibility, savings and value when it comes to their textbook, reading and study needs," said Tracey Weber, Executive Vice President, Textbooks and Digital Education for Barnes & Noble.com. "With new, used, rental and digital textbooks, we offer students across the country the ability to choose the formats that are best for them - whether they prefer digital, physical, renting or owning."

Weber added, "And we’re thrilled to roll out our revolutionary NOOKstudy application to provide higher education students with unprecedented freedom to access their eTextbooks and other resources on their PC or Mac anytime and anywhere to make it easy to study smarter."

Renting Textbooks from BN.com

Barnes & Noble's new online service offering textbook rental gives students access to thousands of the most heavily adopted, high-quality textbook titles.  The flexible terms include 60, 90 or 125-day options, depending on the length of their semester, with the ability to extend the term in 15-day increments. All BN.com rental textbooks include free return shipping when the rental period expires.  In the event that a student drops a course, Barnes & Noble will provide a full refund within 21 days of the rental. Students can learn more about Barnes & Noble's new textbook rental service and other textbook options at www.bn.com/textbooks,

A Quick Study on NOOKstudy

The feature-rich, free NOOKstudy software application is now available for download at www.NOOKstudy.com and will be available in 637 Barnes & Noble College stores nationwide this fall.  Higher education students can manage all their digital content - eTextbooks, class materials, and notes - on the computing device they rely on most, their PC or Mac. Developed with input from college students, professors and administrators, NOOKstudy is a must-have for higher education students delivering a superior digital reading experience.

Some of the innovative features of NOOKstudy include:

• Instant access:  Download a large, versatile selection of eTextbooks, academic and trade titles in seconds.
• No backpack required: Access all related materials - eTextbooks, lecture notes, syllabi, slides, images, trade books and other course-related documents - all in one place, so students' digital libraries go wherever they go.
• Save time and money:  Save up to 50 percent on eTextbooks.  Both students and faculty can enjoy a free 7-day trial for eTextbooks, as well as free samples of trade books and access to over 500,000 free eBooks.
• Study effectively and efficiently:  Open multiple eTextbooks and sources at one time, have class notes available while reading, and zoom in on full-color images.
• Organize and categorize: Take notes directly in eTextbooks, tag content, highlight and make annotations that are customizable and searchable, and even integrate Web research. Drag and drop content and relevant materials around courses to easily and intuitively organize the library.

To celebrate the launch of NOOKstudy, Barnes & Noble is providing a number of fun promotional offers for the college audience.  Students who download NOOKstudy now through the fall semester will receive a free College Kick Start Kit which includes 50 Survival Tips - advice about how to win at college, including time management advice and even ramen noodle-based gourmet recipes.  Also included in the College Kick Start Kit are 12 Essential Books for College - free, high-quality Barnes & Noble Classics eBooks including Canterbury Tales, The Scarlet Letter and Poems of Emily Dickinson, and others.

Students who download NOOKstudy through October 29, 2010, will automatically be entered in the Barnes & Noble College Giveaway Sweepstakes, offering one lucky winner a $5,000 cash prize. (Sweepstakes details are available at www.NOOKstudy.com).  And students who visit and "like" the new NOOKstudy page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NOOKstudy, will also have the chance to win a $1,000 Barnes & Noble gift card.