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A data storage hierarchy includes a media library characterized by a travelling elevator which moves in front of an open-faced wall of storage cells or compartments and ingress-egress slots to a plurality of data recording devices. Optical disks are selectively moved by the travelling elevator betwe

A data storage hierarchy includes a media library characterized by a travelling elevator which moves in front of an open-faced wall of storage cells or compartments and ingress-egress slots to a plurality of data recording devices. Optical disks are selectively moved by the travelling elevator between the storage cells and the data recording devices. The carrier can carry a plurality of the optical disks at a given time. Each time the travelling elevator accesses a storage cell or a recording device, the record disk currently held by such cell or device is moved onto the travelling elevator and then the optical disk carried to such cell or device is inserted into the cell or device. Programs are provided for controlling the movements of the travelling elevator for maximizing swap operations of the disk at cells and devices. The optical disks have no home cell in the library. The retentive data structures are continually updated contemporaneously with the movement of the optical media including identificaiton of the optical media being carried on the travelling elevator. Movement of the optical media from any of the devices to the storage cells is based upon movement to a closer one of the cells irrespective of the previous content of the cell.

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In a machine-effected method of operating a media library having a large plurality of storage slots, each capable of storing a record medium, a plurality of media drives in the library capable of receiving and yielding a record medium for performing signal transfer operations on the medium while in

In a machine-effected method of operating a media library having a large plurality of storage slots, each capable of storing a record medium, a plurality of media drives in the library capable of receiving and yielding a record medium for performing signal transfer operations on the medium while in the drive, carrier means moveable amongst all of said slots and drives for carrying record media therebetween, the carrier being capable of holding and carrying a plurality of said media; the machine-executed steps of: assigning a unique VOLSER to each of said record media; creating a retentively stored volume table identifying all record media in the library by the respective VOLSERs and indicating that the volume table the location in the library of each record medium by its respective VOLSER; creating a volatile library control block for the library indicating which of said record media are in the carrier and slots by the respective VOLSERs; positioning the carrier at one of said slots or said drives, at said one slot or drive, first fetching a record medium whenever such slot or drive currently is holding a one of said record media and then inserting another record medium from the carrier into said one slot or drive; contemporaneously to said fetching, inserting and carrying maintaining a working and a retentive copy of information identifying the record media being carried by the carrier, stored in the slots and being held by the respective drives; and when finished with a first record medium held in a given drive, leaving such record medium in the drive until a second record medium is to be mounted into the given drive and then in one carrier motion remove the first record medium from the drive and then inserting the second record medium into the given drive and then storing the first record medium in an empty one of said slots which is a closest one of the slots to the given drive irrespective of the slot from which the first record medium from for mounting into the given drive.