The New York Times reports that a new eReader being unveiled today by Barnes & Noble will be called “The Nook.” The Times leaked new information about the device in an article published late yesterday. According to the paper, the device will match the Amazon Kindle’s most recent price tag of $259.

Unconfirmed photos of the device surfaced last week on the Web. If the photos are accurate, the new device will have an electronic ink display positioned above a smaller touch screen at the bottom of the device that features a virtual keyboard for taking notes. 

Early last week, Barnes & Noble sent journalists invitations to an event scheduled for today in Manhattan.

With the latest release, Barnes & Noble enters an increasingly crowded marketplace. Amazon’s Kindle was most recently joined by the Sony Reader, with iRex and Plastic Logic both promising new devices in the near future.

Barnes & Noble’s e-bookstore, which it rolled out in July, now boasts a catalog of over a million books, 500,000 of which are free and come as a part of its recent partnership with Google Books. All of those books can be bought and read on desktop computers and laptops, as well as through apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry.