Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2015	Feb. 28, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
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		63,894,449