Systems and methods of media management, such as management of media to and from a media storage library

1. A method of verifying a request for recalling data storage media from an offsite location to a data storage media library associated with a data storage operation, the method comprising:

receiving a report comprising a list of media components requested in a shipment of media components sent from an offsite media storage facility to the media library, each item in the list comprising both machine-readable and human-readable information that describes a particular requested media component;

electronically scanning the machine-readable information from the list in the report to identify automatically or partially automatically the requested contents of the shipment of media components;

upon receipt at the media library of the shipment of media components from the media storage facility, electronically scanning each media component in the shipment in order to automatically or partially automatically identify actual contents of the shipment of media components;

automatically comparing the identified requested contents of the shipment with the identified actual contents of the shipment that was sent from the media storage facility; and

when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment are the same as the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically sending an electronic confirmation of receipt of the shipment;

when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment do not include all of the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically or partially automatically performing an action to obtain requested media components that were not included in the shipment; and,

when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment include extra media components that were not in the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically or partially automatically performing an action to return the extra media components to the offsite media storage facility.

2. A system for verifying a shipment of data storage media components received at a media library from an offsite media storage facility, the system comprising:

an identification component, configured to:

electronically scan machine-readable information from a report to identify automatically or partially automatically requested contents of the shipment of media components, wherein the report comprises a list of media components requested in the shipment of media components sent from the offsite media storage facility to the media library, each item in the list comprising machine-readable and human-readable information that describes a particular requested media component;

upon receipt at the media library of the shipment of media components from the media storage facility, electronically scan each media component in the shipment in order to automatically or partially automatically identify actual contents of the shipment of media components;

a comparison component configured to compare the identified requested contents of the shipment with the identified actual contents of the shipment that was sent from the media storage facility; and

a verification component in communication with the identification component and comparison component that is configured to perform at least two of:

1) when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment are the same as the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically send an electronic confirmation of receipt of the requested contents of the shipment;

2) when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment do not include all of the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically or partially automatically perform an action to obtain requested media components that were not included in the shipment; and,

3) when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment include extra media components that were not a portion of the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically or partially automatically perform an action to return the extra media components to a location associated with the offsite media storage facility.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the identification component includes a bar code reader configured to electronically scan the media components by reading one or more bar code symbols of the media component.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the report is automatically generated by a provider of the shipment of media components.

5. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:

a system information component, wherein the system information component is configured to review information obtained from the report and determine a possible location of a requested media component that was not included in the shipment.

6. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:

an error correction component, wherein the error correction component performs an action to request a refund or credit for an erroneous shipment when the verification component determines that the shipment does not contain all the requested media components.

7. The system of claim 2 , wherein the verification component is further configured to, when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment include extra media components that were not a portion of the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically generate shipping materials and automatically alert a carrier to ship the extra media components to a location associated with the offsite media storage facility.

8. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:

a tracking module configured to gather data from a common courier to track locations of media components in transit to the media library and provide a graphical user interface to depict currently reported locations of media components in transit.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein a bar code reader is used to electronically scan the media components by reading one or more bar code symbols of the media component.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report is automatically generated by a provider of the shipment of media components.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

reviewing information obtained from the report to determine a possible location of a requested media component that was not included in the shipment.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

performing an action to request a refund or credit for an erroneous shipment when the verification component determines that the shipment does not contain all requested media components.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment include extra media components that were not a portion of the identified requested contents of the shipment,

automatically generating shipping materials, and

automatically alerting a carrier to ship the extra media components to a location associated with the offsite media storage facility.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

gathering data from a common courier to track locations of media components in transit to the media library, and

providing a graphical user interface to depict currently reported locations of media components in transit.

15. A tangible computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform a method for verifying a request for recalling data storage media from an offsite location to a data storage media library associated with a data storage operation, the method comprising:

receiving a report comprising a list of media components requested in a shipment of media components sent from an offsite media storage facility to the media library, each item in the list comprising both machine-readable and human-readable information that describes a particular requested media component;

electronically scanning the machine-readable information from the list in the report to identify automatically or partially automatically the requested contents of the shipment of media components;

upon receipt at the media library of the shipment of media components from the media storage facility, electronically scanning each media component in the shipment in order to automatically or partially automatically identify actual contents of the shipment of media components;

automatically comparing the identified requested contents of the shipment with the identified actual contents of the shipment that was sent from the media storage facility; and

when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment are the same as the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically sending an electronic confirmation of receipt of the requested contents of the shipment;

when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment do not include all of the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically or partially automatically performing an action to obtain requested media components that were not included in the shipment; and,

when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment include extra media components that were not a portion of the identified requested contents of the shipment, automatically or partially automatically performing an action to return the extra media components to the offsite media storage facility.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein a bar code reader is used to electronically scan the media components by reading one or more bar code symbols of the media component.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the report is automatically generated by a provider of the shipment of media components.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises:

reviewing information obtained from the report to determine a possible location of a requested media component that was not included in the shipment.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises:

performing an action to request a refund or credit for an erroneous shipment when the verification component determines that the shipment does not contain all requested media components.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises, when the comparison determines that the identified actual contents of the shipment include extra media components that were not a portion of the identified requested contents of the shipment,

automatically generating shipping materials, and

automatically alerting a carrier to ship the extra media components to a location associated with the offsite media storage facility.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises:

gathering data from a common courier to track locations of media components in transit to the media library, and

providing a graphical user interface to depict currently reported locations of media components in transit.