Lookee here! IBM has an automated tape library in the works, coming soon to a data center near you. Guess Storage Tek has finally gotten to them.

Len Taylor is an IBMer from the Washington Systems Center, here to talk about the new tape library. The 3495 is a big long cabinet that sits flush to the wall. It comes in (as I recall) three models, depending on how many volumes you want to be able to store in it. These are models L20, L30 and L40. (How come there isn't a model L10? We could use a smaller library. Len cryptically replied "It would be nice to start with L10... but we didn't.")

Inside the cabinet is a robot that rides on a set of railroad tracks. It picks tapes off the wall and carries them to IBM 3490 tape drives. The drives stand by themselves on the floor, with their faces toward the library.

The robot is a lot like the STK robot. It carries a camera and a lantern so that it can read volume serials from the tapes in the library. When the robot breaks, it is possible to enter the library through a door at one end. Be careful though; it is also possible for you to get locked inside! (I expect that IBM will fix this before the unit becomes generally available.)