Barnes & Noble Earns Top Rating in the 2012 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for the Fourth Year in a Row

(PRESS RELEASE) New York—Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, proudly announced today that it has earned the top rating of 100 percent for the fourth year in a row in the 2012 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), an annual survey administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. Barnes & Noble joins the ranks of 190 other major U.S. businesses which received top marks for their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees and consumers.

"It is an honor to be recognized once again by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for our dedication to recruiting the best and most diverse talent and providing them with expanded and competitive benefits," said Michelle Smith, Vice President of Human Resources for Barnes & Noble, Inc. "At Barnes & Noble we are as passionate about our booksellers as we are about bookselling. It is our booksellers who make the Barnes & Noble in-store, digital and online experience special for our customers, and we make enormous efforts to create a rewarding career experience for each of them. We also believe a great bookstore is a reflection of its community as well as its booksellers, and we strive to support and reflect the diversity of the communities we serve."

The CEI rated 638 businesses in total on a scale from 0 to 100 percent, evaluating LGBT-related policies and practices including non-discrimination policies, transgender health benefits and domestic partner benefits. Once again, Barnes & Noble's efforts in ensuring LGBT equality in each of the survey's main criterion earned it the prestigious 100 percent ranking.
For more information on the 2012 Corporate Equality Index, or to download a free copy of the report, visit www.hrc.org/cei.