Where to Find Study Materials After Barnes & Noble Closes

Last reviewed: August 2, 2026.

If your local Barnes & Noble or campus bookstore closed and your GRE, MCAT, SAT, ACT, or ASVAB date is already on the calendar, start with the correction that keeps this from becoming a rumor spiral: Barnes & Noble retail is not disappearing. The retail chain still operates about 600 stores and is opening roughly 60 new locations in 2026; the confirmed 2026 retail closures described in current coverage are older locations, often tied to expiring leases or mall redevelopment, not a chainwide shutdown.[1][2] The larger store-count churn is at Barnes & Noble Education, the campus-store operator: BNED closed 82 stores and opened 56 in the 39 weeks ended January 31, 2026, and still operated 1,120 physical and virtual bookstores.[3]

That distinction matters because the solution is different. If a retail store near you closed, you lost a convenient shelf. If a campus store closed, your school may still have a virtual bookstore, inclusive-access course materials, or another operator. Either way, the exam date did not move. The job for the next 48 hours is to replace the sourcing route without rebuilding the whole study plan.

Use the exam owner first, then replace the shelf

A closed bookstore usually feels urgent because it interrupts a habit: walk in, scan the test-prep section, buy the thickest book that looks recent, and start tonight. That habit is not the same as a prep plan. For most major exams, the safest first replacement is not another commercial book. It is the official practice ecosystem from the organization that writes or administers the exam.

For a test-taker under deadline, the official stack does three things a bookstore shelf cannot guarantee: it shows the current exam format, it gives at least some real or exam-owner-aligned practice, and it prevents you from spending the first week after a closure comparing anonymous “best book” lists. Commercial books can still help with content review. They should not be the first thing standing between you and a diagnostic.

GRE: official practice can cover the first week without a bookstore

For GRE prep, ETS should be the first stop. The current ETS preparation pages include two free POWERPREP Online full-length practice tests, a free Math Review, and sample questions; ETS also sells three additional POWERPREP PLUS practice tests for students who want more official full-length exams later in the schedule.[4][5]

The practical move is simple: do not replace a missing GRE book before you preserve your diagnostic. Take or schedule a free POWERPREP test first, then use the Math Review and sample questions to identify whether your first weakness is arithmetic, algebra, data analysis, vocabulary, timing, or reading stamina. A commercial book can still be useful for repeated drills, but it should be filling a known gap, not guessing at one.

The paid POWERPREP PLUS tests are not the first purchase everyone needs. They make more sense once you know your test date, have used at least one free official diagnostic, and need an additional official full-length closer to the exam. Independent GRE tutors also commonly advise sequencing ETS POWERPREP tests rather than burning all official exams at the beginning, but that is strategy guidance, not an ETS rule.[6]

SAT: Bluebook is the replacement for the missing full-length section

For the SAT, the replacement for “I was going to buy a book after school” is College Board’s digital practice path. College Board provides full-length digital practice tests through Bluebook and a Student Question Bank for targeted practice.[7]

Khan Academy also maintains free Digital SAT prep. Because course pages can change, re-check the Khan Academy page before you make it the backbone of a long plan; as of this review, it remains the relevant free SAT prep route to verify alongside College Board’s official tools.[8]

If you already had an SAT study calendar, keep the order: diagnostic, score-gap analysis, targeted practice, full-length review, then another full-length. The source changes from bookstore book to Bluebook and the Question Bank. The calendar does not need to collapse. Readers who need a fuller SAT planning structure can use the internal guide to the SAT score-gap method or build a source-by-source plan with the SAT prep toolkit guide.

MCAT: separate official practice from content review

The MCAT is where bookstore panic can get expensive fast, because the book sets are large and the content load is real. Start with AAMC, not a reseller cart. AAMC’s free planning and study resources include the Official Prep Hub, two free full-length practice exams, 120 free questions from the retired Official Guide, and the Khan Academy MCAT Collection, which AAMC describes as about 1,100 videos and about 3,000 review questions.[9]

That does not mean a book set is useless. It means the book set has a narrower job. Use AAMC materials to anchor practice quality and exam format. Use borrowed, used, or purchased books to review biochemistry, chemistry, physics, psychology, sociology, and biology topics that your diagnostic exposes. If the local shelf disappeared before you bought a set, you still have enough official material to start measuring your weaknesses this week.

For MCAT passages, the danger is mistaking content familiarity for passage performance. A chapter on circuits or amino acids can help, but the exam still rewards reading, experimental reasoning, and timing. If you are replacing a closed store with pieced-together materials, protect passage practice first and fill content review around it. For a concrete example of passage-level work, see the MCAT guide built around a black soldier fly larvae passage.

ACT: MyACT covers the first replacement layer

ACT’s free test-prep page points students to free full-length online practice tests, QuizMe quizzes, and Question of the Day through a free MyACT account.[10] That is enough to keep a study plan moving while you decide whether you still need a printed review book for English grammar rules, math refreshers, science timing, or reading practice.

Do the online practice before buying a replacement book if your exam is close. An ACT book bought in a hurry often becomes a comfort object: it looks complete, but it may not match the exact section that is costing points. MyACT practice can tell you whether the next dollar should go toward a math review source, more full-length tests, or no book at all.

ASVAB: the official site is a starting point, not the whole free stack

ASVAB prep is the asymmetric case. The official ASVAB site provides sample questions for all 10 subtests, which is useful for orientation and subtest awareness.[11] It is not the same kind of deep official free practice ecosystem that GRE, SAT, MCAT, and ACT test-takers can use.

For fuller free practice, ASVAB students often have to use military channels and carefully chosen third-party resources. Military.com points applicants toward options such as the U.S. Army ASVAB Challenge app and PiCAT-related previews.[12] If your bookstore copy of an ASVAB guide vanished with the store, start with the official sample questions, identify the subtests that matter most for your goal, and then use military-channel practice to increase volume. The ASVAB exam prep guide hub can help turn that into a subtest-priority plan.

A 48-hour sourcing plan that keeps the calendar intact

When a store closes, do not spend three days trying to reconstruct the exact shelf you lost. Replace functions in order. A prep plan needs diagnostics, content review, drills, full-lengths, and review time. It does not need a particular cashier, storefront, or display table.

1. Protect the existing calendar. Keep the test date, target score, and next scheduled study block. If tonight was supposed to be a diagnostic, take the official online diagnostic or schedule it before shopping.
2. Replace official practice first. Use ETS, College Board, AAMC, ACT, or official ASVAB materials before buying a commercial substitute.
3. Fill content review gaps through the library. Look for current or recent prep ebooks, audiobooks, and physical copies before paying retail.
4. Use the used market only after checking edition risk. A cheap book is useful when it teaches stable content; it is dangerous when it misstates current exam format.
5. If you are a college student, check campus access separately. Your physical BNED store may be closed while your school still routes required materials through a virtual bookstore or inclusive-access program.

This plan is deliberately boring. Boring is good when the exam is not waiting for you to finish investigating retail news.

The library is the cleanest bookstore substitute

Libraries are not just a fallback for people who cannot buy a book today. For test prep, they are often the fastest no-subscription route to a usable review text. Libby, the library reading app from OverDrive, supports free borrowing of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines with no subscription and no late fees, and OverDrive says its platform is used by more than 90% of public libraries in North America.[13]

The library route has three layers. First, search Libby or your library’s digital catalog for the exam name plus “official,” “practice test,” or the publisher name you were planning to buy. Second, place holds on physical prep books if the digital copy is checked out. Third, ask about interlibrary loan if your branch has no useful copy. Interlibrary loan will not help if your exam is next Saturday, but it can rescue a six- or eight-week plan that lost its bookstore source.

Do not browse the library catalog the way you browse a bookstore shelf. Search by function. If your SAT Bluebook diagnostic says algebra is the problem, look for math review. If your MCAT practice shows psychology and sociology gaps, borrow that section’s review source first. If your GRE quantitative score is lagging, an older general GRE book may be less useful than a focused math review paired with ETS questions.

The main library limitation is edition freshness. A borrowed book that explains grammar, algebra, amino acids, or reading strategies can still be useful even if it is not brand new. A borrowed book that promises “current format” practice should be checked against the exam owner’s site. When the format matters, the official site wins.

Used books can help, but label the risk honestly

Used books are a reasonable bridge when the choice is “study this week with an imperfect book” or “lose a week waiting for the perfect source.” The caveat is that the most eye-catching price and edition advice often comes from community posts, not verified market data. Reddit users have reported finding used prep books through resellers such as ThriftBooks in roughly the $3–$8 range, have described post-2015 MCAT editions as usable for some review purposes, and have argued that older official ETS GRE materials remain valuable because retired real GRE questions are scarce.[14] Treat those as self-reported community claims, not a price guarantee or official recommendation.

The edition rule depends on what the book is doing. Stable content review has a longer shelf life. Algebra explanations, chemistry basics, grammar rules, and vocabulary work do not expire the way a test interface or scoring claim can. Full-length tests, timing advice, section structure, and “current exam” promises need more scrutiny. If a used book contradicts ETS, College Board, AAMC, ACT, or the official ASVAB site, the book loses.

A practical used-book filter is enough for most students:

• Check the exam format date before buying.
• Prefer books that solve a known weakness from an official diagnostic.
• Avoid paying for old “full-length” claims if official digital practice is available.
• Use older books for content explanations and extra drills, not as the authority on the current exam.

If your campus bookstore closed, check the virtual route before buying elsewhere

College students have one extra step because a closed physical campus store does not always mean the campus-materials system disappeared. BNED’s reported store churn sits alongside continuing physical and virtual bookstore operations, and the company’s strategy includes closing under-performing, less profitable locations.[3] If your school used a BNED store, search your institution’s bookstore page, student portal, or bncollege.com path before assuming required materials are unavailable.

Inclusive-access programs also matter for students who are buying course materials while preparing for an exam. BNED describes First Day Complete as an equitable-access model that delivers faculty-required course materials on or before the first day of class, billed through the institution. In preliminary unaudited fiscal 2026 results, BNED said BNC First Day program sales reached $702.0 million in the 39 weeks ended January 31, 2026, up 30.2% year over year.[15] Those sales figures are preliminary and unaudited, so they should not carry more weight than the 10-Q store-count data, but they do show why a closed counter on campus is not the same as the end of course-material access.

For exam prep, ask a narrower question: did the closed campus store affect your test-prep book source, your required course materials, or both? If it only affected test prep, use the official exam stack and library route. If it affected course materials, check the school’s official bookstore, inclusive-access, financial-aid, or department channels before spending out of pocket.

What to do tonight, by exam

If the closure interrupted a planned purchase today, use the next study block for an action that creates information, not just a shopping list.

• GRE: open ETS POWERPREP and schedule one free full-length. Download or bookmark the ETS Math Review. Buy nothing until you know whether the first gap is quantitative, verbal, timing, or test endurance.
• SAT: install or open Bluebook, confirm available practice tests, and use the Student Question Bank for the first weak area after your diagnostic. Re-check Khan Academy’s Digital SAT page before assigning it a long sequence of daily work.
• MCAT: create or open your AAMC Official Prep Hub access, identify which free full-length or question set fits your timeline, and use Khan Academy MCAT content for the first review gap. Do not buy a whole set before deciding whether the missing piece is content, passages, or timing.
• ACT: use the free MyACT practice options first. Let the results decide whether a borrowed or used book should focus on English, math, reading, science, or full-test stamina.
• ASVAB: start with official sample questions across all 10 subtests, then add military-channel practice for volume. Keep special attention on the subtests tied to the roles you are considering.

If money is the reason the closed store hurts, use free official materials first and delay purchases until the gap is specific. The broader Gen Z budget exam prep path covers $0 prep and fee-waiver thinking, and students affected by school access disruptions can also look at the site’s coverage of school-funding rulings and SAT/ACT continuity or the analogous Miami-Dade school-closures SAT prep guide.

The storefront can close without taking the prep plan with it

A bookstore closure changes where the materials come from. It does not remove the official GRE, SAT, MCAT, ACT, or ASVAB starting points; it does not stop libraries from lending; it does not prevent used books from filling content gaps; and it does not erase campus virtual-store access where that system still exists.

Keep the sequence intact: diagnostic, review, drills, full-lengths, review again. Once that sequence is protected, the missing shelf is an inconvenience, not the thing that decides the score.

References

1. Barnes & Noble Closing Stores: List of Shuttered Locations 2026, Inc.
2. Barnes & Noble new locations 2026, USA Today, December 21, 2025.
3. Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. Form 10-Q, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
4. Prepare for the GRE General Test, ETS.
5. POWERPREP Practice Tests, ETS.
6. GRE POWERPREP Tests: How to Use Them, Vince Kotchian.
7. Full-Length Linear SAT Practice Tests in Bluebook, College Board.
8. Digital SAT, Khan Academy.
9. Free Planning and Study Resources, AAMC.
10. Free ACT Test Prep, ACT.
11. Sample Questions, Official ASVAB.
12. ASVAB, Military.com.
13. Libby App, OverDrive.
14. Cheap way to get prep books?, Reddit.
15. Barnes & Noble Education Announces Preliminary Full Year Fiscal 2026 Unaudited Financial Results, Barnes & Noble Education, June 24, 2026.