Barnes & Noble CFO Joseph Lombardi resigns

Barnes & Noble Chief Financial Officer Joseph Lombardi resigned Friday. Lomarbdi, 49, has been with the bookseller since 2003 and signed a three-year contract in 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Journal described his departure as happening "abruptly," adding that it is "opening a hole in the bookseller's executive ranks at a critical time."

After the dissolution of Borders, Barnes & Noble is the last national brick-and-mortar bookselling chain standing. It has faced its own financial struggles, having put itself up for sale and accepting a major investment from Liberty Media this year. However, with Chairman Leonard Riggio in charge since the 1970s, it has had one thing that Borders didn't: continuity of leadership.

How deeply Lombardi's departure may affect the company remains to be seen. He has said he will stay on into 2012, until a replacement is found.

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-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: A Barnes & Noble store in Coral Gables, Fla. Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images