barnesandnoble.com Launches "Countdown to 2000"; New Feature Celebrates the Century's Significant Books and Music.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 23, 1999--

On the 100th day before the end of the century, barnesandnoble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN) (http://www.bn.com) announced today a special editorial feature called "Countdown to 2000."

Starting with the year 1900, each year of the century will be highlighted, with a snapshot about that year's historical events, and a short feature about a significant book and musical work published or released that year. A link to the section will appear every day on the site's home page.

Customers will be able to vote for their own selections starting in early November, and their choices will be published on December 31, 1999, the last day of the feature.

"We wanted to celebrate the century, and what better way for us than singling out the significant books and music," said Brenda Marsh, vice president, Merchandising, barnesandnoble.com. "Selecting significant works in a particular year created some wonderfully difficult choices for our editors - choosing between Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat or Jack Kerouac's On the Road, both published in 1957, for instance, or between Miles Davis and the Beatles for music. But we think people will be excited to see the wealth of wonderful books and music published this century all still in print today."

While best-of-the-century lists compiled by other institutions to date have concentrated on mainstream literature and nonfiction, the barnesandnoble.com lists of the century's significant books and music are much broader. Book selections include Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908), William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (1929), and Dr. Spock's The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946). Music choices range from the first performance of Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier" (1911) to the first jazz recording ever (The Original Dixieland Jazz Band's "Livery Stable Blues" in 1917), and Billie Holiday's recording debut (1933).

About barnesandnoble.com

Since launching its online business in May 1997, barnesandnoble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN) quickly has become one of the world's largest Web sites and the fourth largest e-commerce site, according to Media Metrix. Focused largely on the sale of books, music and related products, the company has capitalized on the recognized brand value of the Barnes & Noble name to become the second largest, and one of the fastest growing, online distributors of books.

Customers can choose from millions of new and out-of-print titles and enjoy a variety of related content such as author chats, book synopses and reader reviews. The site also offers thousands of bargain books discounted up to 91 percent, the most popular software and magazine titles, music, and gift items for every occasion. barnesandnoble.com recently launched its music store, which includes the first online classical music superstore. With access to Barnes & Noble's more than 750,000 in-stock titles, barnesandnoble.com has the largest standing inventory of any online bookseller ready for immediate delivery. The URL http://www.bn.com makes the site easy to find, and its Express LaneSM single-click ordering process ensures fast and convenient purchasing.

The barnesandnoble.com affiliate network has more than 160,000 members and the Company maintains strategic alliances with major Web portals and content sites, such as AOL, Lycos and MSN. The Company is also a leader in business-to-business e-commerce with its unique Business Solutions program.