Making material available Libraries make their collections and connections available to their users. Browsing is also possible in digital files. With regard to lending material and accessing databases that are not in the public domain, the users authorization is always checked by means of access controls. The fact that a public library is concerned with an 'open user group' does not, therefore, imply that there is no control over all the ways of making information available. Copying The photocopying facilities libraries offer for short sections completes the consultation and lending functions.
Users can print or download non-substantial sections of databases for reuse.
The collections and connections of various libraries complement each other. In theory, a system of inter-library lending traffic and document supplies provides the library user with indirect access to all the information in the collaborating libraries. This function is particularly important for scarce and less recent material. The libraries foresee a number of bottlenecks in the execution of their main activities. The distribution of printed publications generally takes place through public channels, i.e., publishers and book sellers.