Barnes & Noble Announces Resignation of Maureen O'Connell.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 12, 2002

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced that Maureen O'Connell has resigned as Executive Vice President of Finance.

Ms. O'Connell has left to become Executive Vice President, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB), the world's leading research and advisory firm based in Stamford, Connecticut. "It has been a great experience working for Len and one of America's great retail enterprises. I have had the opportunity to be involved in a number of exciting transactions, but this new position allows me to take on operational responsibilities in addition to financial ones."

Since joining the company in March 2000, Ms. O'Connell has managed and led a number of important financial transactions for the company, including the issuance of a $300 million convertible bond, the completion of an initial public offering of GameStop (NYSE:GME), and a recently completed $500 million new revolving credit facility.

"Maureen has been instrumental in strengthening the company's balance sheet and has assembled a world-class financial team," said Leonard Riggio, chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc. "We wish her success in her new role at Gartner."

Maureen's responsibilities are immediately assumed by Larry Zilavy, chief financial officer.

ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE, INC.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is the world's largest bookseller, operating 606 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 49 states. It also operates 286 B. Dalton Bookseller stores, primarily in regional shopping malls. The company offers titles from more than 50,000 publisher imprints, including thousands of small, independent publishers and university presses. It conducts its e-commerce business through Barnes & Noble.com (http://www.bn.com) in which it owns a 36% interest.

Barnes & Noble also has approximately a 60% interest in GameStop (NYSE: GME), the nation's largest video-game and entertainment-software specialty retailer with 1,128 stores.

General financial information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the Internet by visiting the company's corporate Web site: http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/financials.

SAFE HARBOR 

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Barnes & Noble is including this statement for the express purpose of availing itself of the protections of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to all such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and represent the beliefs of the management of the company. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks include, but are not limited to, general economic and market conditions, decreased consumer demand for the company's products, possible disruptions in the company's computer or telephone systems, possible work stoppages or increases in labor costs, possible increases in shipping rates or interruptions in shipping service, effects of competition, possible disruptions or delays in the opening of new stores or the inability to obtain suitable sites for new stores, higher than anticipated store closing or relocation costs, higher interest rates, the performance of the company's online and other initiatives, the successful integration of acquired businesses, unanticipated increases in merchandise or occupancy costs, unanticipated adverse litigation results or effects, product shortages, and other factors which may be outside of the company's control. Please refer to the company's annual, quarterly and periodic reports on file with the SEC for a more detailed discussion of these and other risks that could cause results to differ materially.