Business Expert Press · Applied business learning
Business help that feels human.
Applied business eBooks — not journals — for entrepreneurs, job seekers, career growth, and local economic development. Written by people who do the work. Short enough to finish. Friendly enough for a public library.
Available through Learners Engaged for North American public libraries.
Who it’s for
Built for the patrons — and partners — your library already serves.
If you already run business office hours, job clubs, or startup programs — BEP is the between-session collection people can finish.
01
Entrepreneurs
Aspiring founders, side-hustlers, and small business owners who need clear next steps — not a theory wall.
02
Economic development
SCORE, chambers, Main Street, workforce boards, incubators — a practical digital shelf to hand people between meetings.
03
Job seekers
Clear, applied titles that sit beside résumé help, interview practice, and career centers.
04
Career & professional development
Staff and patrons leveling up in marketing, leadership, finance basics, and workplace skills.
Collections
Collections that match real patron questions.
Skip the intimidating catalog. Start with the shelves people ask for most.
Patron ask
“I want to start a business — where do I begin?”
Entrepreneurship & Small Business
Idea validation, operations, funding basics, and growth — short titles they can use between SCORE appointments.
Programming spark: Startup Saturday · Idea Lab · Side Hustle Hour
Patron ask
“How do I get the word out without a big budget?”
Marketing & Getting Customers
Marketing, digital & social, sales, and communications — practical how-tos for local makers and service businesses.
Programming spark: Market Your Business Night · Social for Small Biz
Patron ask
“I need to understand the numbers.”
Money Smarts (Finance & Accounting)
Finance and accounting titles that demystify cash flow, pricing, and financial decisions — friendly enough for non-accountants.
Programming spark: Money Mondays · Know Your Numbers
Patron ask
“I need to level up for a better job.”
Career & Professional Growth
Career development and workplace skills that sit beside résumé help and interview practice.
Programming spark: Career Café · Promote Yourself Lab
Patron ask
“I’m managing a team for the first time.”
Leadership & Managing People
Leadership, HR basics, and management titles for supervisors and nonprofit / small-org leads in your community.
Programming spark: Lead with Confidence · First-Time Manager Circle
Access
Easy to buy. Easy to own. Easy to use.
Unlimited simultaneous use
Whole class, whole job club — no turn-aways.
DRM-free PDF downloads
Patrons take titles to their own devices.
Perpetual ownership available
Build a collection that lasts.
Free MARC records (incl. OCLC)
Catalog-friendly from day one.
SERU — no license required
Straightforward access terms.
Citations, DOIs, abstracts
Easy to discover and cite.
Long-term preservation (CLOCKSS)
Content you can trust over time.
One clear path
Available as an aggregated collection through Learners Engaged. Trial, demo, and quote with us.
Curated business collections with high-value content — without inflated pricing or an unnecessary platform maze.
In your library
Pair it with what you already do.
01
Job club / career center
Hand someone two short titles after résumé help.
02
Small business office hours
SCORE / chamber partners get a digital shelf to recommend.
03
Economic development partners
City ED, Main Street, incubators: “the library has the applied business shelf.”
04
Displays & LibGuides
“Start a Business,” “Get Customers,” “Know Your Numbers,” “Level Up at Work.”
Depth
1,500+ titles under a single subscription.
1,500+
applied business titles in one subscription
Fresh titles every year (~80 new) — short enough to finish, practical enough to use Monday morning.
Quality
High-quality applied business — not journals.
More than 200 Business Expert Press titles are used in Harvard Business School case studies — a clear signal of quality and real-world relevance.
“The rights of the purchasing library are quite amazing for the price of the e-book collections. No other publishers or aggregators are even close to offering what BEP offers libraries.”
Denise R. Gehring
Charleston Advisor
Webinar
Talk about your library’s value with entrepreneurs
Practical strategies for talking about your library’s role with entrepreneurs and local economic development — with Dr. Audrey Barbakoff.
FAQ
What is Business Expert Press?
A library-friendly collection of concise, applied business eBooks — entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, career skills, and leadership — written for real-world use.
Is this only for universities?
No. The content is practical and short enough for public library patrons: small business owners, job seekers, and lifelong learners. Academic credentials sit in the background; the shelf is for your community.
How do patrons use it?
DRM-free downloads, unlimited simultaneous use models available through library-friendly terms — easy to promote alongside job clubs and business programs.
How is it sold to libraries?
Annual digital libraries, archive, topical collections / bundles, perpetual or subscription options. Learners Engaged handles demos, trials, and quotes for North American public libraries.
How do we try it?
Request a trial or book a short demo with Learners Engaged.
Give your community a business shelf they will actually use.
Practical. Friendly. Built for economic development and applied learning.