...and immediately knows everything.
Since research in a library normally takes 1d4 hours, but a Skald 7 has Lore Master, not only can s/he take 20, but it takes only a standard action! It's not even Dewey mastery, the skald walks in, breathes the must and says "yep, a Balor can cut your head off really easily" or some other high-level factoid. Here's the kicker, because it's a library he doesn't even have ranks in Knowledge (planes)!
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Was there a rule question in there somewhere?
Lore Master (Ex): At 7th level, the skald becomes a master of many different types of lore, and can take 10 on any Knowledge check for which he has ranks. Once per day, the skald can take 20 on any Knowledge check as a standard action, instead of spending the normal amount of time that taking 20 requires. He can use this ability to take 20 on a Knowledge check twice per day at 13th level and three times per day at 19th level.
Skalds don't need a library for that. Neither do bards for that matter, who gain this ability at level 5.
Let's say for arguments sake I have an archetype that swaps out or alters bardic knowledge (eg. Battle Scion). So I can't just roll any skill. Hence the necessity for a library.
The skald gets the little advantage that this is specified:
...instead of spending the normal amount of time...
Which lets him shorten the 1d4 hours of research to a standard action.
I guess the question is, is this time saving technique correct by RAW?
You need to spend 1d4 hours so you can make the check. just walking into a library wont let you make a check that you can't make.
You need to spend 1d4 hours so you can make the check. just walking into a library wont let you make a check that you can't make.
The rules don't support that interpretation. Knowledge says "In most cases, a Knowledge check doesn't take an action (but see "Untrained," below)." and then later on "The time to make checks using a library, however, increases to 1d4 hours."
It's pretty clear to me that the 1d4 hours is the actual time it takes to make the check, not a prerequisite time that must be spent in the library as a separate thing that happens before being allowed to take the check as a non-action. Otherwise, the "doesn't take an action" would not be qualified by "most cases", because studying in a library is the only exception in the Knowledge skill that gives any sort of time cost.
Also, there's the line "instead of spending the normal amount of time that taking 20 requires" -- this will either be 0 (because 20 non-actions doesn't take up any more time than 1 non-action would), or 20d4 hours (library study); only one of those is beneficial to change to a standard action. Although without that ability or a similar one, one cannot take 20 on a Knowledge check so standard action is still better than impossible, I suppose.
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The UI system for research specifically says that you can't take 20 on the checks (and each requires 8 hours). However, that is to learn specific library secrets.
To perform a standard knowledge check using a library the 'knowledge through osmosis' is a 'valid' reading of the words used. However, it seems clear that is not the intent. Logically, you need to spend time reading books if you are gathering knowledge from a library. I'd allow the Skald (or Bard) to use their 'take 20' on the knowledge library check, but still require 1d4 hours for it.