I work in a busy television production and the need to implement a new tape library to address the growing number of tapes! Any suggestions on how to organize this, what categories, etc, would be welcome. recommendations for software to help with this would be greatly appreciated!
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If you are asking this question, then you are the wrong person to do this job. Hire a consultant.
A tape library’s primary function is to serve as a repository for stored medium, providing reference and access to particular information. This is accomplished in essentially the same manner as the conventional book library.
Depending upon the level of sophistication you require, there are several options.
Most simply, you could simply assign each volume a unique identifier, such a a number, which could be recorded in a log or database, and indicate it’s content for reference. Store the tapes in logical sequence. When a specific tape is needed, look it up in your record, determine the volume containing the information, and retrieve it for use.
Of course there are much more complex schemes which exist to manage your library.
On the higher end of the scale, there are hierarchical storage management programs which automate the tasks of recording and retrieval, even going so far as to communicate operational commands to “robot” librarians, which store, mount and retrieve the tapes automatically.
Your budget will be the primary factor in determining your approach.