How to find and utilize a "built-in method % static method or namespace function"

I have a piece of code that uses the MEX file tifflib.mexw64. Up through R2024a, this file could be found at $matlabroot\toolbox\matlab\matlab_images\tiff\private\tifflib.mexw64.

However, beginning in R2024b, this file no longer ships with MATLAB, which causes my code to fail.

I think I have identified the source of the issue by examining the built-in class Tiff.m, which also utilizes tifflib.mexw64. In the 2024a version, this mex file is accessed using the command tifflib(<args>). But in the 2025a version, the call is to matlab.internal.imagesci.tifflib(<args>). I tried to determine where the function resides by typing

which("matlab.internal.imagesci.tifflib")

on the command line in R2025a. The output is

"tifflib is a built-in method % static method or namespace function"

I don't understand this output. Does it mean that tifflib.mex no longer exists as a stand-alone file and is now bundled into the matlab code itself, somehow?

My main goal is to continue to use tifflib functions without modifying my code. I could, of course, change all of my tifflib calls to point to matlab.internal.imagesci.tifflib(<args>), but I suspect that would break backwards compatibility. The easiest solution might be to copy the tifflib that ships with R2025a (if I can locate it) to a /private folder where my code can access it. But I'm open to other approaches as well. Thanks for any alternative suggestions on how to deal with this.