Switching to cloth is intimidating at first, but you quickly get into the swing of things! You sound like you've done a bit of research, but I'll try and explain everything rather than assume you know it all.
Basically, there's no 'perfect' cloth nappy. Everyone loves different stuff.
My advice would be to try and find another cloth library - they'll explain everything to you and you can try stuff out to see what works best for you. Is there one slightly further away? They're listed on this this page .
Basically, all cloth nappies are made of a waterproof bit and an absorbent bit. The cheapest way to do it is to buy a waterproof wrap and then old fashioned terry squares and a nappy nippa (the modern version of a nappy pin - they're genius). Terries are also quick drying, people swear by them! Some people love 'all in twos', you have an absorbent shaped nappy rather than a terry and then put a wrap around it. Either way, you don't need to wash the wrap every change, so you need less of them. The waterproof bit is the expensive part, so this is often cheaper. The 'containment' factor tends to be higher too as there are two layers of protection.
Then there are 'All in One' nappies, which combine the two bits. They're easiest to put on, but are slower to dry. I love pocket nappies, they have a pocket in the wrap that you stuff boosters in, then you put the nappy on like a disposable. They're faster to dry because you take the boosters out before washing.
I got all mine second hand, they were probably about £6 each. A lot of people use what are affectionately known as 'eBay cheapies', they can go for about £2.50 each. Depending on the age of your child and how often you need to change their nappy, you probably will need 20 (you do need to change more frequently than cloth). I started with 24 for an initial outlay of £150. I would wash every third day, using 6 a day, then it gave me a day to dry them. (I now have many, many more than 24, it's addictive).
On top of that, you need something to store dirty nappies in (I managed to pick up a second hand nappy bucket for £5). A mesh liner for the bucket makes the loading job much nicer, but they're pretty cheap off Amazon. You can also use a wet bag (I've started using this because it hangs out of the way of inquisitive little hands).
Most people use a liner in the nappy. Disposable ones are very expensive (like 2p a sheet), but you can make your own fleece ones - I used an old pair of pyjamas. For out and about, you'll probably want a wet bag. I like the one with two pockets because you can put the clean nappies in one pocket and dirty in the other.
A lot of people that use cloth nappies also use cloth wipes - they're amazing. So much better at poo clean up than wet wipes! I just cut a flannel into 4 and overlocked the edges. You can use a zig zag stitch instead of overlocking.
Sorry, that was a bit of an essay. But I love talking cloth nappies!