Barnes and Noble, A Noble Reply

I know that we previously responded to you concerning a display that was tampered with in one of our stores. For your information, we have also posted the attached press release to our corporate website at www.barnesandnobleinc.com We trust this information will address your concerns.



We thank you for reaching out to us.



Sincerely,



Mary Ellen Keating

Spokesperson

Barnes & Noble, Inc.


Press Releases

Financial Only

Press Releases Archive

E-News Signup

Media Relations Contact

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

03/06/2009

Barnes & Noble Outraged Over Tampering of Store Display in Coral Gables, Florida



New York, New York – March 6, 2009 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, announced today that it is the victim of a malicious act. The company is outraged over the tampering of a store display in its Coral Gables, Florida store by a customer who placed an inappropriate title in the center of its Presidential display. Barnes & Noble believes the incident occurred two weeks ago when a customer took a book from another part of the store entitled Monkeys: A Captivating Look at These Fascinating Animals, placed it in the window display and then photographed the altered display. When Barnes & Noble discovered the book in the display it immediately removed it. Since then, the photograph has been widely distributed via email and over the Internet falsely claiming that Barnes & Noble actually placed the book in the display.

Leonard Riggio, Barnes & Noble Founder and Chairman who has long been involved in the civil rights struggle, said “this malicious and despicable act is nothing short of a hate crime, which should be punishable under federal statutes. Rather than detracting from President Obama’s historic victory as was intended, the perpetrator of this crime served only to validate the wisdom of the tens of millions of Americans who voted for him.”

Mr. Riggio has spent his lifetime promoting equality and social justice. He currently serves as the Finance Chairman of the Host Committee for the NAACP’s upcoming Centennial Convention in New York City, and is actively engaged in many civil and human rights issues. At this moment, his family is building and donating homes to Hurricane Katrina survivors through its widely acclaimed, “Project Home Again.”

Barnes & Noble stores across the country are also involved in hosting thousands of events that promote diversity and tolerance in the communities they serve. Some examples include a Celebration of Black History Month, Autism Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Storytimes, and Close the Book on Hate (a three year campaign with the Anti-Defamation League). Sadly, the window display, which was tampered with, was a display celebrating the career of President Obama.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 799 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble is also the nation’s top bookseller in quality, and for the fifth year in a row, the top bookseller brand, as determined by a combination of the brand’s performance on familiarity, quality, and purchase intent, according to the EquiTrend® Brand Study by Harris Interactive®. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web’s largest e-commerce sites.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company’s corporate website: www.barnesandnobleinc.com.