Organization - Additional Information (Detail)		9 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2016 Store	Jan. 28, 2017 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		36
Number Of Closed Stores		17
Number of Stores	751	770
Barnes and Noble, Inc [Member]
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage			100.00%