A head load/unload mechanism for a rotating magnetic memory, such as a single or double sided floppy disk drive, comprises a lifter arm which is mounted for viscously damped rotation on a control arm for selectively loading and unloading the read-write head or heads of the drive under the control of a snap action solenoid. A pressure pad may be mounted on the control arm for movement into and out of pressure transmitting relationship with a recording medium supporting platen under the control of the solenoid whereby the recording medium is flattened between the pressure and the platen when the head or heads are loaded to transfer data to or from the recording medium.