With thirty-four chapters detailing the varied money-saving strategies for libraries and librarians that the respective authors have implemented, The Frugal Librarian’s primary value lies in its timeliness. As many of these chapters point out, we are all currently struggling through a bad time for library budgets while seeing increased demand for library services from our patrons. It can be difficult to cope with such a situation. Although seeing this fact restated so often can be depressing and demoralizing for the reader, Frugal Librarian actually contains much hope. The book encourages brainstorming and heavily underscores the value of innovation and of positive thinking. It is therefore ultimately very much an encouraging light in otherwise dreary times.

It is worth emphasizing this latter point, for it is as a whole that the book works best. Some of the chapters address such specific topics that their examples are perhaps not applicable to any other institution. Other chapters occasionally contain advice that at first glance can seem to be rather self-evident. These chapters are not necessarily real weaknesses in the book, however, Because each chapter is written by authors who have the voice of experience, it is easy for readers to realize that they also might be capable of managing important, necessary changes at their own institutions or addressing difficult challenges. Taken all together, the book serves as great fodder for inspiration and reassurance.

In fact, the bulk of Frugal Librarian is actually practical, useful advice that is relatively easy to implement. Likewise, some of the chapters are quite sagacious, for example, Kacy Vega and Kim Becnel's chapter “Bringing the Outside Back In: Creative and Cost-Effective Outreach Strategies,” Colleen S. Harris and Mary Chimato's “Managing Staff Stress During Budget Crises,” and Tom Cooper's “Bidding Service Contracts in Public Libraries.”

These and several other chapters are to be especially commended for blending practical advice with pithiness, since one weakness of this book is that many chapters waste words reminding the reader that money is tight in libraries nowadays. Carol Smallwood's preface indicates that conciseness is one of the book's objectives; to be truly succinct, the preface might also have stated plainly that libraries today face financial constraints, so that the authors of each chapter could discuss potential solutions without having to restate the problem dozens of times.

An additional shortcoming is that, although the book is divided into sections, those sections and their titles seem rather arbitrary or ill-defined. For example, most chapters outline a successful or otherwise interesting project or innovation that the respective authors implemented in their own institutions. Therefore, the section “On-the-Job Success” could theoretically encompass the majority of the book.

Despite a few minor flaws, however, The Frugal Librarian is to be recommended. Taken as a whole, the book is a solid, robust work that provides encouragement and support to its readers. The book engenders a sense of resiliency and creativity that will serve its readers well as they make tough decisions for themselves and their institutions in these hard economic times.