The "Books and Reading" Project is part of the Council of Europe's cultural program involving the 40 states party to the European Cultural Convention. The project aims to contribute to: the maintenance of the diversity of written output as well as a sufficiently dense network of libraries and book shops; promotion, notably in Central and Eastern Europe, of professional training for translators, booksellers, publishers and librarians; dissemination of significant European cultural works; and the translation of major scientific and literary works.

Practical features of this program include: revitalization of the book sector economy in Central and Eastern Europe by encouraging and coordinating partnerships and training programs for publishers and booksellers; setting up a European network of libraries and library associations; and modernizing archive legislation and regulations. The project also promotes translation by strengthening cooperation between translator colleges and centers; assisting scientific requests for creation or updating of bilingual dictionaries; supporting translation of children's literature and major scientific works, and establishing a corpus of important European texts.

The project is supported by numerous partners including UNESCO, the European Union, the European Cultural Foundation and the International Council for Archives. The Council of Europe is not a grant-making organization.