[ Spotted on the "code4lib" mailing list, forwarding here because I'm hoping someone can/will help this grad student out. ---rsk ] ----- Forwarded message from Noah Adebanjo <onadebanjo@UALR.EDU> -----

From: Noah Adebanjo <onadebanjo@UALR.EDU> Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2025 09:21:41 -0600 Subject: [CODE4LIB] Seeking advice on preserving and processing IBM MT/ST magnetic tapes (first first word processor) Reply-To: Code for Libraries <CODE4LIB@LISTS.CLIR.ORG>

Dear Code4Lib Community,

I'm a graduate assistant working at the Center for Arkansas History and Culture archives, currently processing the born-digital materials from the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute collection. Among these materials, I've discovered several IBM MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter) tapes that date from the late 1960s/early 1970s.

As these are relatively uncommon media formats now, I'm reaching out for advice on a couple of things;

1. Best practices for preserving these magnetic tapes 2. Recommendations for recovering/accessing the data they contain 3. Whether any institutions have experience with similar materials and would be willing to share their workflows 4. References to vendors or specialists who might be able to assist with data recovery 5. or any documentation about the IBM MT/ST file formats and technical specifications

Although, when I did my research I found the following resources ( here <https://archive.org/details/IBM-MTST-OneTapeStation-OperatingInstructions/page/n43/mode/2up>, here <https://www.ricomputermuseum.org/collections-gallery/small-systems-at-ricm/ibm-mtst-system>and here <https://blog.bruchez.name/posts/ibm-mt-sc-1/>) written by some computer gurus, but it doesn't necessarily answer how to get the content on the tapes - it only talks about the complete machine so I still don't know the best practice for the archival field. My goal is to properly document and potentially recover the content if possible from these tapes as part of my processing work.

Any insights, suggestions, or resources the community could share would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much y'all. --

Noah Adebanjo | Graduate Assistant Center for Arkansas History and Culture University of Arkansas at Little Rock

*onadebanjo@ualr.edu <onadebanjo@ualr.edu>*

He/His/Him

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