The initial value of tcl_library is set when Tk is added to an interpreter; this is done by searching several different directories until one is found that contains an appropriate Tk startup script. If the TK_LIBRARY environment variable exists, then the directory it names is checked first. If TK_LIBRARY is not set or does not refer to an appropriate directory, then Tk checks several other directories based on a compiled-in default location, the location of the Tcl library directory, the location of the binary containing the application, and the current working directory.
The variable can be modified by an application to switch to a different library.
This value is normally the same as the result of “package require tk”.