Physical bookstores are few and far between but this one is a nice gem in Frederick. It's big, nice selection of books and they have done a good job of shifting to other retail things. Toys, games, stationary, music, etc it feels up to date. The Starbucks inside is big with plenty of seating and drinks are solid. Service is good. The staff here are overall helpful and friendly which is really refreshing. As a Lego nerd I was really surprised with their selection which was impressive for a bookstore. Decent deals on their legos and their books. It's nice to support local and smaller businesses that are getting harder and harder to find. This place is a cozy retail space that has 3rd space vibes for you to hang out for a bit while you shop and get a coffee. Would recommend and will be back. read more

Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Bookstores Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

Walking into a Barnes & Noble is like walking into a time capsule. I say this since when you walk in it has not changed since the late 90s, early 2000s. Almost everything is identical as to when they really were growing. That can be said about this location. It felt like it was built a long while ago and they haven't done anything to update it as of yet. Obviously the sections have changed a bit in terms of size and what is offered overall. I found it surprising that they still had a vibrant DVD section (although I am sure they switched over to Blu-ray). The café in the store was going strong while I walked through. I will have to say that my purpose from coming in here was to take a trip down memory lane, and that was about it. I didn't need a book, or magazine, I just wanted to dip my toe into a bit of nostalgia. read more

Never really had an issue at this Barnes and Noble. I've found gifts and plenty of children's books. There are typically a good selection of kids books. The one negative I have had was purchasing a bargain priced book with a sound button on it. According to the backside of the book, you could replace the batteries. When it came time to do so, no no avail. The battery door was literally glued into the book so it couldn't be removed. We ended up cutting it out just to find out that you can't even open the speaker and the battery was never intended on being replaced. Therefore, I unknowingly purchased a "non-functioning" children's book and it was quite sad. B&N corporate only "helped" remedy this by issuing a refund. No explanation as to why it was acceptable to sell it without mentioning it was "non-functioning". P.S. when I mention non-functioning, of course the book is still readable. Just the battery never worked, even before I purchased it, which is likely why they were bargain priced to begin with. Unfortunate. read more

I love B&N, and anyone else that does too will know how important the Starbucks experience is inside too. Leon, the barista, at this location was exceptionally rude to customers, not only myself and my father but everyone else in line. I have never seen such horrible customer service. I'm literally begging the managers to remove Leon from any customer-facing positions. Leon's attitude is atrocious and as long as they're there I won't order from the counter again. read more

Everytime I come here I usually get coffee, and everytime I do the Baristas are disgustingly rude EVERY SINGLE TIME. The only person that was actually RESPECTFUL was the girl with short blonde hair (I forget her name but I think it starts with a "P")..... I like to come, get a coffee and browse the store for about 45 minutes when I come so I find a few things to take home. They take the fun and enjoyment out of the entire store. read more

Nerd Alert- spent my birthday cruising the aisles of B and N, it was wonderful. Always enjoyed their selection of books, accessories and children activities. This place is amazing and my children love the kids section. read more

Whoever the blonde woman is working at the front desk this morning is very rude and needs to be retrained in the proper way of handling customers. I came in to pick up a book I ordered and went to pay, she asked me if I wanted to save 10%? Of course! Who doesn't want to save a little money!! She proceeded to sign me up for a membership card...when it was done, my total then came to $40.46. Mind you, my original total for my book was a little over $16.00. I asked, "why is my total now $40????" She states, "it's because of the membership." I ask her to cancel it. And then tell her perhaps she should mention that to people before she goes through all the effort of signing people up. She did not once say sorry, and was actually quite rude. I don't know where they get that policy, but it's ridiculous. I wish I would have gotten her name...but needless to say, I won't be back. Side note...to Mel B. who says everyone in the world knows that you have to pay for a membership card....I don't shop Barnes and Noble, so NO, I don't know you pay for a membership card. I prefer to shop local stores, but unfortunately, they didn't carry the specific book I needed. Didn't excuse the rudeness of the entire transaction. read more

Terrible staff and higher prices than any other place online have doomed Barnes and Noble. I went here today and wound up leaving my purchases when the cashier decided to get rude. read more

Today was a terrible day for the cafe. I'm very disappointed in the treatment of the employees. When I went in for my order, the poor young woman at the cafe looked so distraught and helpless. She was very stressed and overwhelmed because she was working by herself with a long line. I asked for a manager, trying to help her and she told me that she already tried, but no one was coming. The young girl tried her best, but the way she looked just didn't sit right with me. In fact, other customers were trying to comfort her too. Unfortunately, every time I come in, it's the same story of workers running around behind the counter, apologizing profusely for being understaffed. As if it's their fault that the store would rather make more money with 1 employee suffering than a team of 2-3. Very disgusting. read more

I found the new book, I hoped to, on Longevity by Dr Atilla available and scooped one up yesterday. Later at a large community picnic I showed it to a neighbor. He liked what he read so much that I gave my copy to him right there. So today, I dropped by our convenient Barnes& Noble again and picked up another for me... (they are down to 3 now, and I'll likely get one of those for my daughter's family this week. This store is easy/peasey to get to and in and out of. They have an nice large Coffee Shop and the store staff happily walk you to an item that you are looking for, and all with a smile. Then today I got to talk to an author Robby Silk with a new Childs book: The Lonely King... The Adventures of RJ the Mouse... that my 5 yr old granddaughter will enjoy over and over. It helps to save the money that I do on every purchase in the store or cafe as a B&M Member. I love these folks. Clean, good selection AND I walk out the door with what I want not wait for a truck 'some day soon'. read more

I went in to pick up an online order. When I received the planner, I noticed a lot of scratches on the front and back cover. The plastic packaging was missing. I asked if I could exchange it but it was the last one. Honestly, if the item doesn't look good, why pull it and have a customer pick it up??? I know they want to make a sale but they shouldn't sell new items in bad condition. read more

I purchased a book from this store for a class back on the last day of January of this year (2014). I dropped the class, so I wanted to return the book. This month (May), I went to return the book with the receipt, and they told me that after 14 days of purchase, I have to get store credit. I didn't have the time to do so, due to errands. Last week, I came back to the store and the sales associate got the manager. The manager had an attitude with me, although I was very pleasant, and he gave me my store credit. Overall, Barnes & Noble is a great store, but has snotty, stuck-up white people with bad attitudes. If you're African-American, don't be surprised if some of the sales people get an attitude. P.S: if you're stopping in for a quick bite or a drink in the café, please keep in mind that they don't accept Starbucks gift cards as a method of payment, even though they carry and make Starbucks products, which sounds hypocritical, SMH read more

the manga section at this store is HUGE, i love it so much. i live in rockville, but come up to this barnes and noble just for that. Ive also picked up some of my favorite novels based on the staff recommendations in this store! read more

**Pros** -I was able to find a few gems that I haven't seen at other big box retailers -Mall access is nice -Ample seating **Cons** -I found the layout a bit odd, and unlike other B&N that I frequent -It was cluttered. Which sounds crazy to say about a bookstore, but I think they could stand to have stockers tend to the shelves a bit more. **Verdict** -It's a bookstore. Not offering a whole lot more, or less! read more

It took me 20 mins to check out because no one wanted to help me. I was finally directed to the other side of the store to check out after standing and waiting. Employees saw me standing there and did absolutely nothing. The plus side was the woman who checked me out was a delight to talk to. read more

Dirty. They replaced comfortable chairs in their dining area with 2 stained dirty chairs. Bathroom nasty. Employees attitude

Not a lot to add on this review other than to say it's nice to still have a bookstore around in this area. Like most bookstores, the selection isn't like it used to be. They do have a decent magazine area and carry a few out of area newspapers. read more

A bit messy, difficult to get help and staff seem preoccupied with anything but serving customers. Cashiers are always in short supply when there is a long line. I shop mostly online due to this type of experience. They do have a music section which is fairly well stocked and some children story reading is cool too. Its a bookstore......... read more

I have been meaning to write a review for some time now and finally got around to doing it. We enjoy coming to the Barnes & Noble in Frederick. It has become a family outing, and we like to sit at the cafe and browse the books. We like to park on the other end of the parking lot, near Sears, where it is less crowded and then walk to the store. We like that it is located in the mall, too. Afterwards, we take a walk in the mall. Their staff at the cafe are friendly and professional. I wish though, that their decaf coffee in the cafe was not so lukewarm as it always is. It's as if they made a pot of coffee hours ago and left it sitting there. Once in awhile I will get lucky and get hot decaf. Once I commented about it and they brewed a fresh pot for me. It would be more enjoyable if the coffee also was not so bitter. Maybe they can try a different selection of decaf coffee, maybe milder. I do like that they have introduced the veggie pizza for veggie lovers like me. Regarding the books, I love going through their books and DVDs. Their health collection is extensive, and I have purchased many health books and also DVDs there. I have a membership card, so we get good deals. The staff have been helpful in so many ways. This place has become a family tradition. read more

The customer service here was awful. My mother went to renew her teacher's card and the staff was rude and condescending. Not only did the lady at the register not know how to renew the card, she called over another lady, and then she didn't know so they finally called the store manager. The store manager was arrogant and didn't really help. She only repeated that my mom wasn't elegible for the teacher's card even though my mom is a preschool teacher. They finally gave in and gave my mom a bunch of paperwork to fill out and then the manager said she was going to call the school to verify that she was a teacher, despite the fact that my mom had an ID to prove it. Ultimately my mom just gave up and we both left. But the overall attitude of the sales staff was so disrespectful that I am never going to shop here again! I'll order my books off of Amazon instead! read more

As nice as this location is on the surface, I have noticed some huge problems with selection and customer service. I called in to ask if this location had a specific book. The book is available on the website, but I figured it would be more convenient to drop by and make a purchase. Silly me! The rep politely answered the call and asked how she could help me. I told her that I was searching for an urban romance novel, and the entire tone of the call changed. She seemed annoyed that I would even bother her with such a question. "We don't have a section for urban literature, but we do have a few books on sociology and urban development. I don't suppose you would be interested in those..." Her tone and inflection made her disdain for my asking obvious. How dare I ask for a trashy black romance novel. Other reviews have mentioned race. I don't want to say that her attitude & comments were racially motivated, but I will say that so have observed SEVERAL instances of pompous elitist attitudes of Barnes & Noble employees over the years. I also understand supply and demand, but urban, LGBT, and other categories representing minorities and non-normative sects are severely lacking at this location. Ps. The B&N Café "proudly serves" Starbucks coffee, but no other Starbucks products. Don't go there expecting to use that Starbucks gift card you've been saving. read more

One of the best bookstores I have been in. The selection is excellent. Staff is friendly and helpful. Great place to purchase gifts and books for friends and family. I highly recommend this store. We need more Barnes & Noble Bookstores. read more

Decent store. I visited last week. This time I went in I had no problems despite not finding anything close to what I was looking for. Every time I go it seems the book sections get smaller while the toy section gets larger. I know it's not the fault of the people working at the store, but I just wish there were more books. The manga and comics section is the only thing I go there for anymore, but this last time there was a boy sitting in the middle of the aisle reading a book for about a half hour and so it was a nuisance when I wanted to look in that section. I don't know what the store's policy is on letting people read in the store; I know Borders was nice enough to give people couches and chairs but B&N does not so people have to block aisles when they want to read unless they want to buy an overpriced coffee at the starbucks. MOST of the staff is friendly and helpful but a few months ago I did not have a good experience. I had a simple question and waved my hand saying "Excuse me, sir," to an older man walking by (who looked to be the store manager) but he pretended like he hadn't seen/heard me and walked faster. I followed and said "excuse me" again and he finally stopped to look at me (without making eye contact), said all huffy "Look, I need to help the people over there" and pointed to the customer service desk, then continued to walk briskly away from me. I work retail too and I really do understand the stress of having to multitask and get work done while dealing with customer questions and complaints, but if this guy really didn't have time to even acknowledge me and apologize, say "I'm sorry, I've got my hands full, but the associate over there can help you" then obviously the management needs to be retrained in customer service. I will give anyone the benefit of the doubt especially during the holiday season since I know they're understaffed and the employees are under an enormous amount of stress, but this man looked like a manager and should have been setting a better example rather than treat a customer like an annoyance. I see others have complained that the staff comes across as racist or condescending, which also makes me frustrated with this store. Don't know if I'll come back but if I do it will only be because I need a last minute gift for someone. read more