BARNES & NOBLE TO OPEN WALPOLE, MASSACHUSETTS SUPERSTORE IN FALL 1998.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1998--Barnes & Noble, Inc. today announced it has signed a lease agreement to open a 27,000 square foot store in Walpole, Massachusetts. The store, expected to open in early September 1998, will be located in the Walpole Mall on 90 Providence Highway.

Barnes & Noble is the originator and premier operator of book "super"stores in America. Its flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York has been widely recognized as the most authoritative bookstore in the country, and perhaps, the world.

The new Walpole Barnes & Noble superstore will carry over 175,000 different book titles offering customers an extensive choice on every imaginable subject in a spacious and comfortable atmosphere. Additionally, the store will feature an extensive children's selection in a department designed especially for kids. The store's music department will stock over 50,000 CDs and cassette titles, with especially comprehensive selections in classical music, opera, jazz and blues.

"Barnes & Noble operates under the philosophy that each store is unique to its community. We customize each store's selection to reflect the interests and lifestyle of our customers," said Steve Riggio, vice chairman. "Before a store opens, our buyers spend considerable time studying the community and its local publishers and authors. After the store opens, our store manager has the responsibility to further adjust the selection to meet their customers' needs."

The store will also feature a Barnes & Noble Cafe which will serve Starbucks coffee, cappuccino, espresso and the full-leaf teas of The Republic of Tea in a classic bistro setting. Cold drinks will also be available as well as a variety of reasonably priced gourmet sandwiches and desserts.

Barnes & Noble has combined an unparalleled selection with experienced booksellers and innovations in ambiance and service to create a store where customers are comfortable spending their leisure time. The store's staff will develop an ongoing calendar of events ranging from poetry readings, book discussion groups, author signings and children's story telling hours, often featuring a special guest such as Clifford the Dog or Madeline. As with the store's book title selection, the events will be designed to respond to the specific interests of the Walpole community.

Barnes & Noble's reputation for excellence has been built from its solid foundation of knowledgeable booksellers. "There is a strong bookselling culture at Barnes & Noble," said Riggio. "We employ more than 30,000 experienced booksellers nationwide, most of whom are college educated, who are schooled in the art of bookselling and are passionate about the world of books and ideas. Our managers live and work in the communities they serve and most of them have spent their lives there. It's a very rewarding job." Later this year the company will begin to look for experienced book lovers to fill staff positions in the new Walpole store.

In addition to stocking a vast selection of titles, Barnes & Noble's express special order service will order any book from the more than 1.2 million books in print. "Our stores handle an average of 500 special orders per week, most delivered within seven days," said Riggio. "It's amazing! We find the more titles we stock, the more titles people want."

Since 1965, the company has been owned and operated exclusively by booksellers. Len Riggio, later joined by his brother Steve, built the business from one location into what is now the nation's largest bookseller. The company takes pride in the experience of its long-standing management team and hundreds of booksellers who have been with the company for many years.

Barnes & Noble, Inc., operates 483 Barnes & Noble bookstores and 528 B. Dalton bookstores. Barnes & Noble stores offer an authoritative selection of more than 175,000 titles from more than 10,000 publishers with an emphasis on small, independent publishers and university presses. Barnes & Noble is the world's largest bookseller on the World Wide Web (http://www.barnesandnoble.com), and the exclusive bookseller on America Online's Marketplace (Keyword: BarnesandNoble). The company also publishes books under the Barnes & Noble imprint for exclusive sale through its retail stores and mail-order catalogs.

CONTACT: Barnes & Noble Inc., New York

Jennifer Belodeau, 212/633-3389

Rachel McLeod, 212/633-4062