Barnes and Noble University

Press Room Barnes & Noble.com ACQUIRES MINORITY STAKE IN NOTHARVARD.COM Companies to Offer Online Learning Courses Barnes & Noble University to Open This Summer NEW YORK, N.Y. May 30, 2000 � Barnes & Noble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN) (www.bn.com) announced today that it has acquired a minority stake in notHarvard.com, the pioneer in developing online branded universities and the concept of eduCommerce. The companies plan to create a Barnes & Noble University, a free online education resource offering thousands of online learning courses to Barnes & Noble.com's millions of customers through the bookseller's Web site, www.bn.com, beginning this summer. The financial terms of the deal, including the price, were not disclosed. Barnes & Noble.com is one of several new investors announced today by notHarvard.com, which raised $26 million in its second round of venture funding. Other investors include Adam Dell's Impact Ventures, Merrill Lynch KECALP, CenterPoint Ventures and Sanchez Capital Partners. The round was led by Austin Ventures and included previous investor TL Ventures. Customers will be able to register for courses at Barnes & Noble University online, through www.bn.com, beginning this summer. The courses, which will be offered free of charge, are scheduled to begin in mid-July. Under the agreement, Barnes & Noble.com also becomes the primary distributor of notHarvard.com's eduCommerce course materials across its network of branded online universities. "We consider distance learning as a natural extension of Barnes & Noble.com's core business," said Steve Riggio, vice chairman of Barnes & Noble.com. "The Internet is clearly a very large commercial medium but its great promise is to become a portal for the sharing of knowledge and content. Our plan is to create an exciting learning environment where many courses will be based upon the best books in the field. We additionally intend to invite the authors of those books to become instructors, offering them the ability to publish additional content in both electronic form as well as through print on demand technology. By partnering with notHarvard.com to create Barnes & Noble University, we bring together the recognized expert in eduCommerce and the best online bookseller to provide a completely new and unique learning opportunity to Barnes & Noble.com's millions of customers." "Barnes & Noble.com is not only a key strategic corporate investor but also shares notHarvard.com's vision for the expansion and enhancement of eduCommerce," said Judith Bitterli, chief executive officer of notHarvard.com. "We believe the focus, reach and the power of the Barnes & Noble network combined with notHarvard.com's leadership in the creation of online universities will provide a powerful catalyst for exciting developments in online education." About notHarvard.com notHarvard.com is the pioneer in developing online branded universities and the concept of eduCommerce - the use of free, online education as a sales and marketing weapon. Based in Austin, Texas, notHarvard.com's client list includes Barnes & Noble.com (NASDAQ: BNBN), jobs.com, Pervasive Software (NASDAQ: PVSW), Motorola/Metrowerks, and TalkCity (NASDAQ: TALK), among others. Through its private-labeled network of universities, notHarvard.com has access to millions of prospective students. The company, founded in July 1999, has attracted more than $34 million in financing from a number of marquee venture capitalist firms (Austin Ventures, TL Ventures, Adam Dell's Impact Venture Partners, CenterPoint Ventures and Sanchez Capital Partners), investment banks (Merrill Lynch KECALP), and Internet angels. For more information, visit www.notHarvard.com. About Barnes & Noble.com Since launching its online business in May 1997, Barnes & Noble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN) has become one of the world's largest Web sites and the sixth largest e-commerce site, according to Media Metrix. Focused largely on the sale of books, music, software, magazines, prints, posters and related products, the company has become 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, as well as gift items for every occasion. The company recently launched its Prints & Posters Gallery, a unique collection of images that can be produced on demand on museum-quality canvas or high-quality paper, and its eCards service, an exclusive selection of greeting card images that can be personalized and enhanced with animation and music. With access to more than 800,000 in-stock titles, Barnes & Noble.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. The Barnes & Noble.com affiliate network has more than 360,000 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.

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The courses. http://www.barnesandnobleuniversity.com/bncourses