Barnes & Noble invests in Flashnotes.com

Before Barnes & Noble Inc. spins off its Education division later this year, it is expanding the business by investing in a website wherestudents buy and sell their notes from class. (Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Barnes & Noble was buying Flashnotes.com.)

Barnes & Noble and Flashnotes.com will also enter into a strategic alliance agreement that will enable Barnes & Noble Colege to promote Flashnotes at partner schools and on digital platforms.

“One of the key objectives of the planned separation of Barnes & Noble Education, comprising the Barnes & Noble College business, from Barnes & Noble Inc., is to pursue strategic opportunities in the growing educational services markets , and our investment in Flashnotes.com is consistent with that objective,” said Max J. Roberts, CEO of Barnes & Noble Education. “Together, Barnes & Noble College and Flashnotes.com can directly impact student success through a mutual partnership that aligns the student learning and studying experience with a built-in support system, while showcasing the campus bookstore as an important student resource.”

On Flashnotes.com, created in 2010, college students sell and buy student-created course-specific study materials including study guides, notes, flashcards, video tutorials, and live video help.

Barnes & Noble is facing stiff competion from Amazon and others in the market for college textbooks and related services.