If you’re in London, and want access to some book that you don’t otherwise have access to, you can can apply for a reader’s card at the British Library. I don’t know if this is useful, as you can then only access the works while in the Reading Rooms (and so, while the library is open), but I find the Reading Rooms in there are a good place to get work done.
They’re also probably the only place that you’ll be able to access recent journals without being at a university (or asking people who are at a university to get them for you, but that doesn’t suit the “browsing” style of learning).
On the other hand, I pretty much agree that you don’t really need access to physical books. In CS areas of maths, at least, most people tend to make a draft of their textbook available for free online.
If you’re in London, and want access to some book that you don’t otherwise have access to, you can can apply for a reader’s card at the British Library. I don’t know if this is useful, as you can then only access the works while in the Reading Rooms (and so, while the library is open), but I find the Reading Rooms in there are a good place to get work done.
They’re also probably the only place that you’ll be able to access recent journals without being at a university (or asking people who are at a university to get them for you, but that doesn’t suit the “browsing” style of learning).
On the other hand, I pretty much agree that you don’t really need access to physical books. In CS areas of maths, at least, most people tend to make a draft of their textbook available for free online.