Most that I visited combine the two, and the same research skills needed to use any library are even more necessary. In Britain, some libraries are called last resort libraries, which means that you have to prove that you have done as much of your research as possible elsewhere and found that only the library of last resort holds what you need. Therefore, letters of introduction from your professor or dean, providing information about your project and the materials required, are essential. The libraries may have shorter hours and closed book stacks. In the latter, materials are requested either online or by filling in requisition forms, a process that may take a couple of hours or even a couple of days.
Research is time-consuming.
Browsing of shelves is not permitted in closed stacks, making identification of relevant materials via online or print resources vital. Even browsing the shelves in open stack libraries can prove challenging because classification systems other than Dewey or Library of Congress may be used and thus books are arranged using different organizational and philosophical structures. Photocopies can be very expensive, and, if the materials are fragile, may be mediated or not allowed at all. In fact, the use of restricted fragile materials may be prohibited completely and microfilm copy offered instead. To preserve bindings of volumes, only one page may be copied at a time.