Barnes and Noble has a Read in Store program where you can connect your Nook e-reader up to the wireless hotspot and read digital content for free. The bookseller has not really been promoting it the last year and actually seem to be discouraging it.
Read in Store debuted in 2010 with the advent of the first generation Nook e-reader. This model and future e-ink devices allowed Nook customers to access the online bookstore right on their device and read any title they want for up to hour a day. It also bestowed the ability to also read digital magazines and newspapers for to 20 minutes per day. One of the big advantages of using your device in the retail store is that you aren’t downloading samples, you are downloading the full title.
Barnes and Noble hasn’t really promoted the Read in Store program for a number of years. None of the guides and tutorials that were available to read on the old nook website did not get transitioned to the new site they launched a few months ago.
This summer the USA Today,  broke the story that over a hundred bookstores have decided to get rid of their big, cozy chairs to prevent the homeless from loitering in the stores. The only way that you can sit down and use the Nook e-book service is if you sit on the floor or buy some coffee from select locations that have a Starbucks built into it.
Barnes and Noble is apparently making it very hard for their e-reader customers to access free e-books, magazines and newspapers available  in their bookstores. The lack of seating really makes it difficult to read anything for an hour because lets face it, the floors are dirty.  They are no longer actively promoting the program and I believe that it will soon be discontinued.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
