Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, [4][5] operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 5th Avenue in lower Fifth Avenue in Lower Manhattan, New York City.[6] 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 magazines, newspapers, DVDs, graphic novels, gifts, games, 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. states 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.[