from a Barnes & Noble press release

[Sean Klein]

> 
> PS - I've gone past several B&N now, and each one had a big M&D placard in
> the front window. B&N seems to be engaged in a more concerted effort than
> any other book chain to promote M&D. Is B&N more into promotions of this
> sort, or do other outfits like Borders just give more autonomy to each
> store? Does anyone know?

I think it has to do with the "personality" that each of the large stores wishes
to portray to the public.  My impression is that B&N wants to be more "literary" and "sophisticated."  You can often find great and interesting books at B&N.
The other end of the spectrum is Crown and SuperCrown - "If it ain't on the 
bestseller list or got pictures, we don't carry it."  Borders is somewhere
in between.