Baker & Taylor and Barnes & Noble Partner to Build Library Access Via NOOK™ Devices and Give Library Patrons More Digital Book Options

- Award-winning NOOK products to be featured on Axis 360, B&T's revolutionary digital media circulation platform -

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Jun 24, 2011, 07:00 ET

NEW ORLEANS, June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker & Taylor, the world's largest distributor of physical and digital books, and Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, announced at the American Library Association Annual Conference that the companies will partner to build awareness among NOOK customers that digital books are available for loan from local libraries, and to provide all library patrons with a seamless method for borrowing eBooks and other digital content. The highly acclaimed, bestselling line of NOOK ereaders will be featured devices on Axis 360, Baker & Taylor's revolutionary digital media circulation and management platform.

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"We are thrilled to team up with Barnes & Noble – with its innovative line of NOOK devices that are being adopted by more users every day – to deliver digital content into the hands of library patrons who read on a NOOK, in a way that's better, smarter and faster," said George Coe, President of Library & Education at Baker & Taylor. "Together, we support libraries that strive to raise the bar on digital content circulation."

"We believe NOOK and NOOK Color customers will be elated to expand their virtual book shelves with materials borrowed from their local library powered by Axis 360," said Theresa Horner, Vice President Digital Products at Barnes & Noble. "Baker & Taylor's leadership in the library market makes it a perfect partner in promoting NOOK devices for ebook circulation." We look forward to working together to increase the options for reading on the NOOK family of devices."

Axis 360 is the state-of-the-art system for accessing digital content that libraries have been looking for. Starting this fall, patrons at Axis 360-powered libraries will be able to check out ebooks to read on their personal NOOK devices. From Axis 360, patrons will also have a link to the Barnes & Noble online store for purchasing digital content and physical products.

Libraries, readers and NOOK customers will find Axis 360 offers several key benefits, including ease of use, intuitive search and browse and reading recommendations. Built on state-of-the-art technology, Axis 360 showcases the digital library collection on a Magic Wall and makes it quick and easy for patrons to check out the titles they want. Starting this fall, librarians and patrons at Axis 360-powered libraries will also have access to EPUB and spoken word audio titles, as well as a patron reviews module that will allow users to contribute book reviews and assign star ratings to titles to be shared within a library system or with other Axis 360 participating libraries.

About Baker & Taylor

Baker & Taylor Inc. (www.baker-taylor.com) is the world's largest distributor of books, digital content and entertainment products. The company leverages its unsurpassed worldwide distribution network to deliver rich content in multiple formats, anytime and anywhere. Baker & Taylor offers cutting-edge digital media services and innovative technology platforms to thousands of publishers, libraries and retailers worldwide. Baker & Taylor also offers industry-leading customized library services and retail merchandising solutions. Baker & Taylor is proud to power Blio (blioreader.com), the world's most flexible, engaging and revolutionary e-reading application. Charlotte, N.C.-based Baker & Taylor is majority owned by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an institutional private equity fund managed by Castle Harlan, Inc., a leading private equity investment firm.

Baker & Taylor and the Baker & Taylor logo are trademarks of Baker & Taylor Inc. Blio is a trademark of K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. Other company and product names mentioned for identification purposes may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Find Baker & Taylor on Facebook and follow @bakerandtaylor on Twitter.

About NOOK™ from Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble's NOOK brand of eReading products makes it easy to read what you love, anywhere you like™ with a fun, easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble's expansive NOOK Bookstore™ of more than two million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices. The award-winning NOOK Color™ Reader's Tablet™, the best-value on the tablet market ($249), features a stunning 7-inch VividView™ Color Touchscreen to read all of the content you love, shop popular apps, connect via email, browse the Web and more. The All-New NOOK ($139), the Simple Touch Reader™, is the easiest-to-use 6-inch touch reader, with the longest battery life of any eReader. In Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK owners can access free Wi-Fi connectivity, enjoy the Read In Store™ feature to read NOOK Books™ for free, and the More In Store™ program, which offers free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble was the first company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of books through its LendMe® technology, available through NOOK eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores and online at www.BN.com, as well as at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples and Books-A-Million.

For more information on NOOK devices and eReading software, updates, new NOOK Book releases, Free Friday™ NOOK Books and more, follow us on www.twitter.com/ebooksbn and www.facebook.com/nookbn.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller and a Fortune 500 company, operates 705 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, also operates 636 college bookstores serving nearly 4 million students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States. Barnes & Noble conducts its online business through Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), one of the Web's largest e-commerce sites, which also features more than two million titles in its NOOK Bookstore™ (www.bn.com/ebooks). Through Barnes & Noble's NOOK™ eReading product offering, customers can buy and read eBooks on the widest range of platforms, including NOOK eBook Readers, devices from partner companies, and hundreds of the most popular mobile and computing devices using free NOOK software.

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

The All-New NOOK™, The Simple Touch Reader™, NOOK™, NOOK 1st Edition™, NOOK Wi-Fi 1st Edition™, NOOK Color™, Reader's Tablet™, Fast Page™, NOOK Books™, NOOK Bookstore™, NOOK Newsstand™, PubIt!™, NOOK Kids™, Read In Store™, More In Store™, NOOK Friends™, LendMe®, NOOK Library™, NOOK Boutiques™, The Barnes & Noble Promise™, NOOK Books en espanol™, NOOK Study™, Free Friday™, Lifetime Library™ and Read What You Love. Anywhere You Like™ are trademarks of Barnes & Noble, Inc. Other trademarks referenced in this release are the property of their respective owners.

Follow Barnes & Noble on Twitter (www.bn.com/twitter), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/barnesandnoble) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/bnstudio).

SOURCE Baker & Taylor