A new bookstore was welcomed to town Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony by DeKalb Mayor Greg Sparrow.

arnes & Noble, 2439 Sycamore Road, celebrated its opening with a Preview Night open to the public.

Community members were invited to have free finger food and coffee and to peruse the books, music, DVDs and magazines available.

“It’s going to be a good addition. We’re very pleased to have them here,” Sparrow said.

Yvone Hu-Cotto from the Kishwaukee College Literary Program said 10 percent of the Preview Night sales will got to its literary program.

“It’s a beautiful store,” said Scott Ellenberger, president and CEO of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce.

The store packs over 200,000 books, music, DVD and magazine titles into its 21,000 square foot building.

A string group from the Sycamore High School orchestra played for those in attendance.

“The performance is brilliant and beautiful,” said Jamie Strachan, a resident of Sycamore.

Peter Cottontail, a character in a children’s book series, read to local children.

Kim Maavich, assistant manager of Barnes & Noble, said that the store offers a reader advantage discount program for regular customers.

For $25 a year, customers can get 10 percent off everything available in the store.

Maavich said that Barnes & Noble has a best seller list where every book on the list is 30 percent off.

“We offer the best customer service in town,” she added.

As opposed to other bookstores, Barnes & Noble offers a more eclectic selection, Maavich said. Items that are hard to find other places can be found there.

Maavich went on to describe the Barnes & Noble Cafe, located within the store, which serves sandwiches, soups, cheesecakes and Starbucks coffee.

Other features available at Barnes & Noble include a rapid special-order service, where virtually any book in print can be ordered, and a large-scale children’s department that stocks over 15,000 titles.

Maavich said several times a week there will be a children’s story hour where books will be read to children.

Also, the RedDotNet system in the music section is an advanced feature available at this and other Barnes & Noble stores. It will play 15 second selections from songs on almost any CD that is scanned from the store’s selection.