Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Nov. 01, 2014	Nov. 30, 2014
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Nov. 01, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	BKS
Entity Registrant Name	BARNES & NOBLE INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000890491
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--05-02
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		60,243,976