Last month I covered a post on Seeking Alpha noting Barnes & Noble wasn’t as dead in the water as it looked, and that a stock buyback could be an important step on the road to the embattled bookstore’s recovery. Well, it looks like Barnes & Noble is taking that step. Various news sources are reporting that the company has authorized a $50 million stock buyback, and share prices are already rising on the news.

It remains to be seen what effect this will have in the longer term—after all, compared to the company’s overall value and revenue, $50 million is starting pretty small. Nonetheless, if it helps, it might very well lead to more, larger buybacks later.

While the alleged decline in e-book sales has been largely misinterpreted, paper books are unlikely to die out completely, and Barnes & Noble is the only nationwide bookstore chain we have left. If the company plays its cards right, and reduces its reliance on the digital side, it should be able to thrive for some time to come.

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