Later on, SparkNotes expanded to provide study guides for a number of other subjects, including biology, chemistry, economics, health, math, physics, and sociology.

The following year, Barnes & Noble[4] purchased SparkNotes and selected fifty literature study guides to publish in print format.

[7] These teachers argue that students can use SparkNotes as a replacement for actually completing reading assignments with the original material,[8][9][10] or to cheat during tests using cell phones with Internet access.

[8][13][14][15] In January 2019, site developers announced a complete redesign of the SparkLife section of the website in order to focus more on literature-related content.

This announcement was met with a negative response from SparkLife users due to the removal of user-made accounts, blog posts, and comments.