Why Book Platform?;xNLx;;xNLx;The particular symbiosis of culture and commerce is one of the key characteristics of the book publishing sector. The extend to which a given book sector is healthy is shaped by a combination of factors that involve the level of economic and technological growth and the existing regulatory frameworks but is also strongly determined by soft factors of human development such as literacy, education and level of citizens’ participation in public life. As a cultural industry, a strong book publishing can be a contributor to national GDPs and employment rates but is also an essential prerequisite for the development of creativity, critical thought, informed public debate and - ultimately - for more democratic societies.;xNLx;;xNLx;Creators, producers and distributors in the book sector all over the world are facing the same challenges ranging from changing reading habits and competition from the mass media to new technologies and threats to linguistic diversity. In developing and transitional countries, however, these are supplemented by critical limitations in infrastructure, lack of adequate public policies and restricted language markets.;xNLx;