Organization - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Jul. 30, 2016 Store	Aug. 01, 2015	Apr. 30, 2016 Store	Feb. 26, 2015
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of students covered to build relationships and derive sales		5,000,000
Percentage of student population reach by stores		26.00%
Number Of New Stores	33
Number Of Closed Stores	14
Number of Stores	770		751
Barnes and Noble, Inc [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage				100.00%