Barnes & Noble
Encyclopedia
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer
in the United States
, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan
in New York City
. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton Booksellers stores in malls until they announced the liquidation of the chain. The company is known for large, upscale retail outlets, many of which contain a café
serving Starbucks Coffee, and for competitive discounting of bestsellers. Most stores also sell magazine
s, newspaper
s, DVD
s, graphic novel
s, gifts, game
s, and music
. Video games and related items were sold in the company's GameStop
retail outlets until October 2004, when the division was spun off into an independent company. Barnes & Noble is also known for selling the Barnes & Noble Nook
, as well as various incarnations of its mascot
, a teddy bear
named "Barnsie".
The company operates 717 stores (as of October 30, 2010) in all 50 U.S. state
s and the District of Columbia in addition to 637 college bookstores, which serve nearly 4 million students and 250,000 faculty members across the country.
, Illinois
. Their first true bookstore was set up by his son, William, in partnership with G. Clifford Noble, in 1917 in New York City. The original bookstore was at 31 West 15th St., and opened during World War I
. In 1932, at the height of the Great Depression
, the bookstore was moved to its current flagship location on 18th Street and Fifth Avenue.
The business was purchased in 1971 by Leonard Riggio
, who oversaw the growth of the business. In 1974, Barnes & Noble became the first bookstore to advertise on television, and a year later, the company became the first bookseller in America to discount books, by selling The New York Times
best-selling titles at 40% off the publishers’ list price. During the 1970s and 1980s, Barnes & Noble opened smaller discount stores, which were eventually phased out in favor of larger stores. They also began to publish their own books to be sold to mail-order customers. These titles were primarily affordable reissues of out-of-print titles, and selling them through mail-order catalogs allowed Barnes & Noble to reach new customers nationwide.
Barnes & Noble continued to expand throughout the 1980s, and in 1987 purchased the primarily shopping mall
-based B. Dalton
chain from Dayton Hudson. The last B. Dalton stores were slated to close in January 2010. The acquisition of 797 bookstores turned the company into a nationwide retailer, and as of the end of fiscal year 1999, the second-largest online bookseller in the United States. B&N's critics claim that it has contributed to the decline of local and independent booksellers.
Before Barnes & Noble created its web site, it sold books directly to customers through mail-order catalogs. It first began selling books online in the late 1980s, but the company’s website was not launched until May 1997. According to the site, it now carries over 2 million titles.
In 2002, Leonard Riggio's brother Stephen Riggio was named CEO. Barnes & Noble has been spending millions on legal fees to defend against a lawsuit by billionaire investor Ron Burkle. Burkle is engaged in a proxy fight
against chairman Steve Riggio in an attempt to change the management and direction of Barnes & Noble. Burkle is concerned about falling profits and disagrees with Barnes & Noble's e-book strategy.
On August 3, 2010, the company announced that its board was considering a sale of the company, possibly to an investor group led by its chairman, Leonard Riggio.
Steve Riggio was CEO from January 2003 until March 2010. Riggio began his career at Barnes & Noble in 1975 after graduating from Brooklyn College
. After getting his start in the buying and merchandising departments, he became general manager and vice president of the company’s direct mail division in 1981, and held that position until 1987. In 1995, he was appointed chief operating officer, and in January 2003 he was appointed CEO. According to Forbes.com, in 2007 Riggio’s salary was $786,358. He also earns $2,323,942 in other long-term compensation, for a yearly grand total of $3,110,480.
In March 2010, William Lynch, formerly the president of the company's website, who is credited with helping launch the company's electronic book store and overseeing the introduction of its electronic book reader, the Nook, was appointed CEO, in a move that according to USA Today
, underscores the importance of digital books to the bookseller's future. Steve Riggio stayed on as vice chairman.
Barnes & Noble began to publish books during the 1980s, when they started reissuing out-of-print titles. One of these titles, The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin
, has sold over 250,000 copies. The reissued edition of The Columbia History of the World by John Garrity
, for example has sold over 1 million copies.
Since then, the company has expanded its publishing operation. This expansion was aided by the company’s acquisition of SparkNotes
, an educational website and publishing company. Further expansions of the company’s publishing business include the purchase of how-to publisher Sterling Publishing
in 2003.
From around 1992 through early 2003, Barnes & Noble released a series of literary classics for adults and children under the imprint Barnes & Noble Classics Collection
. Originally available only in hardcover, most titles came in a black or cream-colored dustjacket edition. In 2003, Barnes & Noble revamped and expanded its line of literature classics, releasing books in hardcover, trade paperback and mass-market editions.
In addition, Barnes & Noble has a second paperback series called the Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading.
beverages was in Springfield, New Jersey in 1993. Since then, most stores have been amended or constructed specifically to feature a cafe serving Starbucks
beverages, Harney & Sons or Tazo
Tea, FIJI
Bottled Water, bakery goods from The Cheesecake Factory
, candy from Godiva Chocolatiers, sandwiches and other specialty products. Although the cafés are owned and operated by Barnes & Noble, servers follow Starbucks' standards in beverage preparation; the prominent Starbucks logo is sometimes confusing for customers wanting to use their Starbucks Stored-Value Card
s or Gold Card, which are not accepted (the Barnes & Noble membership card is accepted to receive a discount on any café related goods).
In 2004, Barnes & Noble began offering Wi-Fi
in the café area of selected stores, using the AT&T
FreedomLink network. All 777 stores currently offer Wi-Fi, an effort which was completed in 2006. As of July 27, 2009, Wi-Fi is offered for free to all customers.
reader developed by the company, based on the Android platform. The device was announced in the United States
on October 20, 2009, and was released November 30, 2009, for . On June 21, 2010 Barnes & Noble reduced the Nook's price to , as well as the launch of a new Wi-Fi
-only model, for . They also released a Nook colored touch screen for .
The Nook competes with the Amazon Kindle
, Kobo eReader
, Sony Reader
, Apple's iBooks
for the iPhone
, iPad
, iPod touch
and other readers. The device features a 6-inch touchscreen
and an onscreen keyboard. Version 1.3 of the Nook includes Wi-Fi
connectivity, a web browser, a dictionary, chess
and sudoku
games, and a separate, smaller color touchscreen that serves as the primary input device. The Nook also features a Read in Store capability that allows visitors to stream and read books for up to one hour while shopping in a Barnes & Noble Store. According to a June 2010 CNet
article, the company plans to expand this feature to include periodicals in the near future. The color version of the Nook
features a 7-inch color touchscreen, and the ability to view at portrait or landscape orientation.
, Inc., headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, is a subsidiary of the company which operates bookstores at more than 600 institutions of higher education. College Bookstores was previously owned by company chairman Leonard Riggio.
Barnes & Noble College Booksellers also operates the self-proclaimed "world's largest bookstore," located on Fifth Avenue and 18th Street in New York City. This flagship store carries a large variety of textbooks, medical and legal books, and medical supplies in addition to the various trade titles carried at the company's main stores.
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton Booksellers stores in malls until they announced the liquidation of the chain. The company is known for large, upscale retail outlets, many of which contain a café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
serving Starbucks Coffee, and for competitive discounting of bestsellers. Most stores also sell magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s, newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
s, gifts, game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s, and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. Video games and related items were sold in the company's GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
retail outlets until October 2004, when the division was spun off into an independent company. Barnes & Noble is also known for selling the Barnes & Noble Nook
Barnes & Noble Nook
The Barnes & Noble Nook is a brand of electronic-book reader developed by American book retailer Barnes & Noble, based on the Android platform. The original device was announced in the United States in October 2009, and was released the next month...
, as well as various incarnations of its mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
, a teddy bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
named "Barnsie".
The company operates 717 stores (as of October 30, 2010) in all 50 U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s and the District of Columbia in addition to 637 college bookstores, which serve nearly 4 million students and 250,000 faculty members across the country.
History
Barnes & Noble originated in 1873 when Charles Barnes opened a book-printing business in WheatonWheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is an affluent community located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Their first true bookstore was set up by his son, William, in partnership with G. Clifford Noble, in 1917 in New York City. The original bookstore was at 31 West 15th St., and opened during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1932, at the height of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the bookstore was moved to its current flagship location on 18th Street and Fifth Avenue.
The business was purchased in 1971 by Leonard Riggio
Leonard Riggio
Leonard S. Riggio is an American businessperson and entrepreneur. He is the largest shareholder of the book store chain Barnes & Noble, which is the largest specialty retailer in the world. As of May 5, 2009, the company operates 777 stores in 50 U.S. states and the District of...
, who oversaw the growth of the business. In 1974, Barnes & Noble became the first bookstore to advertise on television, and a year later, the company became the first bookseller in America to discount books, by selling The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
best-selling titles at 40% off the publishers’ list price. During the 1970s and 1980s, Barnes & Noble opened smaller discount stores, which were eventually phased out in favor of larger stores. They also began to publish their own books to be sold to mail-order customers. These titles were primarily affordable reissues of out-of-print titles, and selling them through mail-order catalogs allowed Barnes & Noble to reach new customers nationwide.
Barnes & Noble continued to expand throughout the 1980s, and in 1987 purchased the primarily shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
-based B. Dalton
B. Dalton
B. Dalton Bookseller was an American retail bookstore chain founded in 1966 by the Dayton's department store chain. Located primarily in shopping malls, B. Dalton competed primarily with Waldenbooks, and operated 798 stores at its peak...
chain from Dayton Hudson. The last B. Dalton stores were slated to close in January 2010. The acquisition of 797 bookstores turned the company into a nationwide retailer, and as of the end of fiscal year 1999, the second-largest online bookseller in the United States. B&N's critics claim that it has contributed to the decline of local and independent booksellers.
Before Barnes & Noble created its web site, it sold books directly to customers through mail-order catalogs. It first began selling books online in the late 1980s, but the company’s website was not launched until May 1997. According to the site, it now carries over 2 million titles.
In 2002, Leonard Riggio's brother Stephen Riggio was named CEO. Barnes & Noble has been spending millions on legal fees to defend against a lawsuit by billionaire investor Ron Burkle. Burkle is engaged in a proxy fight
Proxy fight
A proxy fight or proxy battle is an event that may occur when a corporation's stockholders develop opposition to some aspect of the corporate governance, often focusing on directorial and management positions. Corporate activists may attempt to persuade shareholders to use their proxy votes A proxy...
against chairman Steve Riggio in an attempt to change the management and direction of Barnes & Noble. Burkle is concerned about falling profits and disagrees with Barnes & Noble's e-book strategy.
On August 3, 2010, the company announced that its board was considering a sale of the company, possibly to an investor group led by its chairman, Leonard Riggio.
Steve Riggio was CEO from January 2003 until March 2010. Riggio began his career at Barnes & Noble in 1975 after graduating from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
. After getting his start in the buying and merchandising departments, he became general manager and vice president of the company’s direct mail division in 1981, and held that position until 1987. In 1995, he was appointed chief operating officer, and in January 2003 he was appointed CEO. According to Forbes.com, in 2007 Riggio’s salary was $786,358. He also earns $2,323,942 in other long-term compensation, for a yearly grand total of $3,110,480.
In March 2010, William Lynch, formerly the president of the company's website, who is credited with helping launch the company's electronic book store and overseeing the introduction of its electronic book reader, the Nook, was appointed CEO, in a move that according to USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, underscores the importance of digital books to the bookseller's future. Steve Riggio stayed on as vice chairman.
Publishing
Barnes & Noble publishes some of the books it sells, inexpensively reprinting non-copyrighted titles or acquiring the U.S. or English language rights from another publisher. In addition, Barnes & Noble commissions reprint anthologies and omnibus editions using in-house editors.Barnes & Noble began to publish books during the 1980s, when they started reissuing out-of-print titles. One of these titles, The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin
Suzette Haden Elgin
Suzette Haden Elgin is an American science fiction author. She founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and is considered an important figure in the field of science fiction constructed languages...
, has sold over 250,000 copies. The reissued edition of The Columbia History of the World by John Garrity
John Garrity
John Garrity is an officer in the United States Army.In 2009 he was appointed the camp commandant of the Bagram Theater Internment Facility....
, for example has sold over 1 million copies.
Since then, the company has expanded its publishing operation. This expansion was aided by the company’s acquisition of SparkNotes
SparkNotes
SparkNotes, originally part of a website called The Spark, is a company started by Harvard students Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, Chris Coyne, and Eli Bolotin in 1999 that originally provided study guides for literature, poetry, history, film, and philosophy...
, an educational website and publishing company. Further expansions of the company’s publishing business include the purchase of how-to publisher Sterling Publishing
Sterling Publishing
Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. is a publisher of nonfiction titles, with more than 5,000 books in print. Founded in 1949, it publishes a wide range of nonfiction and illustrated titles in categories which include art, biography/autobiography, body/mind/spirit, crafts, culinary, do-it-yourself,...
in 2003.
From around 1992 through early 2003, Barnes & Noble released a series of literary classics for adults and children under the imprint Barnes & Noble Classics Collection
Barnes & Noble Classics Collection
Barnes & Noble began releasing adult literature classics around 1992 . The collection comprised 63 classics with two separate types of dustjackets: black and cream. The cream dustjacket collection appears to be exactly the same as the black dustjacket collection except with a few more included titles...
. Originally available only in hardcover, most titles came in a black or cream-colored dustjacket edition. In 2003, Barnes & Noble revamped and expanded its line of literature classics, releasing books in hardcover, trade paperback and mass-market editions.
In addition, Barnes & Noble has a second paperback series called the Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading.
Cafés
The first store to feature a café serving StarbucksStarbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
beverages was in Springfield, New Jersey in 1993. Since then, most stores have been amended or constructed specifically to feature a cafe serving Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
beverages, Harney & Sons or Tazo
Tazo
Tazo Tea Company is a tea manufacturer and distributor based in Portland, Oregon, now a division of Starbucks.-History:Tazo Tea was founded in 1994 by Steve Smith along with his business partners Stephen Lee and Tom Mesher. Lee and Smith had co-founded the Stash Tea Company in 1972...
Tea, FIJI
Fiji water
thumb|right|FIJI Water for sale in a deli.FIJI Water is a U.S.-based business and brand of bottled water derived, bottled, and shipped from the Fiji Islands. It is available in 330ml, 500ml, 1 liter and 1.5 liter bottles...
Bottled Water, bakery goods from The Cheesecake Factory
The Cheesecake Factory
The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. is a restaurant company in the United States. The company operates 165 upscale, casual, full-service dining restaurants: 151 under The Cheesecake Factory mark, 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe mark and one under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen mark...
, candy from Godiva Chocolatiers, sandwiches and other specialty products. Although the cafés are owned and operated by Barnes & Noble, servers follow Starbucks' standards in beverage preparation; the prominent Starbucks logo is sometimes confusing for customers wanting to use their Starbucks Stored-Value Card
Stored-value card
A stored-value card refers to monetary value on a card not in an externally recorded account and differs from prepaid cards where money is on deposit with the issuer similar to a debit card...
s or Gold Card, which are not accepted (the Barnes & Noble membership card is accepted to receive a discount on any café related goods).
In 2004, Barnes & Noble began offering Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
in the café area of selected stores, using the AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
FreedomLink network. All 777 stores currently offer Wi-Fi, an effort which was completed in 2006. As of July 27, 2009, Wi-Fi is offered for free to all customers.
Community involvement
Barnes & Noble hires community relations managers to engage in community outreach. The responsibilities of these managers include organizing in-store events, such as author appearances, children’s storytimes and book groups. Community relations managers work closely with local schools and groups for the promotion of literacy and the arts. One of the things that Barnes & Noble does in the community is sponsor a children's summer reading program that promotes literacy and puts over 2 million books into the hands of the children each year. Barnes & Noble also hosts bookfairs which raise funds for schools and libraries. The company also hosts an annual holiday book drive to collect books for disadvantaged children. 1.16 million books were collected and distributed in 2007. To promote nationwide literacy among 1st to 6th graders and encourage more reading during the summer, Barnes & Noble has implemented a summer challenge where if children read 8 books and write about their reading, Barnes & Noble will give the readers a free book.Barnes & Noble Nook
Barnes & Noble Nook is an electronic bookE-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
reader developed by the company, based on the Android platform. The device was announced in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 20, 2009, and was released November 30, 2009, for . On June 21, 2010 Barnes & Noble reduced the Nook's price to , as well as the launch of a new Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
-only model, for . They also released a Nook colored touch screen for .
The Nook competes with the Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...
, Kobo eReader
Kobo eReader
The Kobo eReader is an e-book reader produced by Toronto-based company Kobo Inc. The original version was released in July 2010 and was marketed as a minimalist alternative to the more expensive e-book readers available at the time. , fifty-eight percent of Kobo Inc is owned by Indigo Books & Music...
, Sony Reader
Sony Reader
The Sony Reader is a line of e-book readers manufactured by Sony. It uses an electronic paper display developed by E Ink Corporation, is viewable in direct sunlight, requires no power to maintain a static image, and is usable in portrait or landscape orientation.Sony sells e-books for the Reader...
, Apple's iBooks
IBooks
iBooks is an e-book application by Apple Inc. It was announced in conjunction with the iPad on January 27, 2010, and was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch in mid-2010, as part of the iOS 4 update. At that time, it was described by Apple as being available only in the United States...
for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, iPod touch
IPod touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
and other readers. The device features a 6-inch touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
and an onscreen keyboard. Version 1.3 of the Nook includes Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
connectivity, a web browser, a dictionary, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
and sudoku
Sudoku
is a logic-based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3×3 sub-grids that compose the grid contains all of the digits from 1 to 9...
games, and a separate, smaller color touchscreen that serves as the primary input device. The Nook also features a Read in Store capability that allows visitors to stream and read books for up to one hour while shopping in a Barnes & Noble Store. According to a June 2010 CNet
CNET
CNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
article, the company plans to expand this feature to include periodicals in the near future. The color version of the Nook
Nook Color
The Nook Color is a color version of the Nook e-reader device by Barnes & Noble. It is a 7-inch tablet with full-color multitouch touchscreen input. The device is designed for full-color viewing of books, newspapers, magazines, and children's picture books...
features a 7-inch color touchscreen, and the ability to view at portrait or landscape orientation.
College bookstores
Barnes & Noble College BooksellersBarnes & Noble College Booksellers
Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Inc. operates bookstores at more than 600 U.S. colleges and universities. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers is a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc., which acquired it in 2009. It was formerly a separate company, and Barnes & Noble chairman Leonard S. Riggio...
, Inc., headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, is a subsidiary of the company which operates bookstores at more than 600 institutions of higher education. College Bookstores was previously owned by company chairman Leonard Riggio.
Barnes & Noble College Booksellers also operates the self-proclaimed "world's largest bookstore," located on Fifth Avenue and 18th Street in New York City. This flagship store carries a large variety of textbooks, medical and legal books, and medical supplies in addition to the various trade titles carried at the company's main stores.
See also
- Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
- BooksellingBooksellingBookselling is the commercial trading of books, the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers or bookmen.-Bookstores today:...
- Book Stacks UnlimitedBook Stacks UnlimitedBook Stacks Unlimited was an online bookstore created by Charles M. Stack in 1992, two years before Jeff Bezos launched Amazon.com. Stack's store, selling new books, began as a dial-up bulletin board located in Cleveland...
- Borders GroupBorders GroupBorders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
- List of bookstore chains
- NookNookNook may refer to a small corner formed by two walls.Nook may also refer to:*A slang name for a person reading; also known as a "book nook"*"Nook", a science-fiction TV series Lexx episode...