February 12, 2020—The Association of University Presses (AUPresses) opposes President Trump’s fiscal year 2021 budget request, which calls for the elimination of federal funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Endowment for the Arts, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the National Historical Publications & Records Commission, among other worthy agencies and programs.
Our global community of mission-based scholarly publishers makes common cause with these groups in the cultivation and dissemination of research-based knowledge, particularly in the humanities.
As NEH documented in a February 10 press release, since its creation in 1965, “NEH has awarded more than $5.7 billion for humanities projects through more than 65,000 grants. This public investment has led to the creation of books, films, and museum exhibits, and to ensuring the preservation of significant cultural resources around the country.”
The American Library Association (ALA) adds, in a February 10 release, that “eliminating federal funding for libraries is to forego opportunities to serve veterans, upskill underemployed Americans, start and grow small businesses, teach our kids to read and give greater access to people with print disabilities in our communities.”
AUPresses will continue to raise our community’s voice in support of humanities scholars, libraries, and readers as the FY2021 federal budget process continues.
About the Association of University Presses
AUPresses is an organization of 160 international nonprofit scholarly publishers. Since 1937, the Association of University Presses advances the essential role of a global community of publishers whose mission is to ensure academic excellence and cultivate knowledge. The Association holds intellectual freedom, integrity, stewardship, and equity and inclusion as core values. AUPresses members are active across many scholarly disciplines, including the humanities, arts, and sciences, publish significant regional and literary work, and are innovators in the world of digital publishing.