Commercial publishing houses, including Random House and Farrar Straus Giroux, have been rocked by layoffs and reorganizations in recent weeks, as the effects of the economic downturn eat away at the book trade. Are university presses next?

In what may — or may not — be a sign of things to come, one of the larger university presses, SUNY Press, has laid off five employees, the Albany Times Union reported today. “The cuts, made earlier this month, represented nearly 15 percent of what was a 34-member staff,” the paper wrote. “The business manager’s office overlooking Lark Street is now empty. A publicist, a clerk, an editor, and a production manager also lost jobs.”

Will the layoffs spread to other university presses? Sales at some (but not all) had been down in recent months, even before the economy took a nosedive. “I certainly expect that sales are going to continue to slump,” Peter J. Givler, executive director of the Association of American University Presses, told the Times Union. “I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more layoffs coming.”

It is possible, however, that some university presses will prove more resilient than their commercial counterparts. Some scholarly publishers have been leaders in experimenting with less traditional and more cost-effective ways to deliver books to readers, and many already know what it feels like to operate in lean times. —Jennifer Howard.