I have been to Barnes & Noble several times in my life but recently I have discovered something very concerning, they keep the newspapers behind the front counter now.

I first noticed this at one off Rivers Ave in North Charleston, SC but today I saw it at another location in Charleston off Sam Rittenberg Blvd.

I was unable to ask the worker behind the counter why they did this because there was a line several people deep waiting to check out.

Now this could be some sort of reason behind this decision and seeing that they are a private company I suppose it is their right.

However, the audacity of Barnes & Noble to put newspapers behind the counter when they leave adult magazines out on the magazine rack is just beyond me.

Being the cynic that I am, some of the papers SHOULD be behind the counter because they are so bad.

This move to me is just mind boggling. Why would a company put the newspapers behind the counter? Are the newspapers stolen a lot or something? I mean even if they are the most expensive one is only a little over a dollar. I’m guessing the papers are not a major source of revenue for these stores.

To me this is just wrong.

If the papers are such a burden or don’t sell well then why are they selling them? On top of that, why are selling them behind the counter where an employee has to go get them? They’re not a library. They are not required by law to have them or anything. So if they are such a problem then why sell them much less sell them behind the counter.

What’s next, you can only stay in the coffee shop if you bought a book that day?