Exhibit 99.1

  Barnes & Noble Announces New $200 Million Share Repurchase Program

    NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 24, 2005--Barnes & Noble, Inc.
(NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, today announced that its
Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program of up
to $200 million of its common shares. Share repurchases under this
program may be made through open market and privately negotiated
transactions from time to time and in such amounts as management deems
appropriate. The new share repurchase program follows the company's
previous $250 million share repurchase program, which was recently
completed in full.

    ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE, INC.

    Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller
and a Fortune 500 company, operates 820 bookstores in 50 states. For
the third year in a row, the company is the nation's top retail brand
for quality, according to the EquiTrend(R) Brand Study by Harris
Interactive(R). Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through
Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web's largest e-commerce
sites and the number-one brand among e-commerce companies, according
to the latest EquiTrend survey. In addition to its retail operations,
Barnes & Noble is one of the largest book publishers in the world. Its
subsidiary, Sterling Publishing, publishes over 1,100 new titles a
year and has an active list of over 5,000 titles.

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

    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,
the successful and timely completion and integration of the company's
new New Jersey distribution center, 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.

    CONTACT: Barnes & Noble, Inc.
             Media:
             Mary Ellen Keating, 212-633-3323
             Senior Vice President
             Corporate Communications
             or
             Investors:
             Joseph J. Lombardi, 212-633-3215
             Chief Financial Officer