Academic publishers braced for slowdown as Trump DEI purge bites

Academic presses may face a slump in sales as US university librarians become more cautious about buying books related to gender, politics or race in light of Donald Trump’s attack on “woke” research, publishers have warned.

With the Trump administration seeking to slash what it calls “radical and wasteful” spending on government diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, American science agencies have begun cancelling active research projects on transgender populations, gender identity, environmental justice and any studies seen to discriminate on race or ethnicity.

Peer review panels have also been halted to ensure new grants align with “agency priorities”, with researchers urged to steer clear of diversity-linked language.

There are now fears that US university libraries might soon be targeted if they are seen to be buying new titles related to politically sensitive areas.

Nicola Ramsey, director of Edinburgh University Press, told Times Higher Education that the DEI crackdown could significantly impact the global academic publishing industry.

“If librarians are told they cannot purchase content that references topics on gender, race, sexuality or minorities, sales will be negatively affected due to the nature of our publishing,” said Ramsey who noted the US academic library market is “key for most university presses and other academic publishers as it’s so large and [universities] traditionally have had much bigger budgets”.

The “real commitment to bibliodiversity” among US university libraries “especially among the Academic Research Libraries” underscored their importance to publishing, she added.

“Those libraries which had sought to build big collections – with a real commitment to bibliodiversity – might soon have to make difficult decisions on what they can buy,” explained Ramsey.

The Trump administration’s antipathy towards DEI initiatives was also likely to reduce research related to diversity that might lead to academic books on such subjects, she said.

“Most academic publishers have been committed in recent years to diversifying our lists, both in terms of author base and research areas [but] this research has relied heavily on federal grant funding, which is being cut from areas connected to DEI initiatives.”

Some university presses, such as Edinburgh, are still committed to publishing on diverse topics from a range of authors, added Ramsey. “This [crackdown] will not deter our editors from continuing to diversify in our publishing – it’s a fundamental commitment that can’t be swayed by one administration,” she said.

That need to uphold diversity in publishing was echoed by Anthony Cond, president of the Association of University Presses and director of Liverpool University Press.

“Many university presses have long histories of publishing on topics that could be construed as DEI. Recent policy announcements make that work more important, not less,” he said.

“In a challenging higher education sector across several countries, including financial pressure on libraries, the university press focus on values-based publishing will remain an essential component for the bibliodiversity of scholarship.”

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com