Systems and methods for preventing conflicts in a media library system, wherein multiple hosts may attempt to access the same element (e.g., cartridge slot) at the same time. A plurality of pools are defined, each of which is associated with a corresponding subset of the hosts and a corresponding subset of the elements in the library. It is assumed that all of the hosts associated with a given pool have compatible software applications or some other means for preventing or resolving conflicts among them. Each host is then allowed to access only the subset of the elements in the library that are associated with the same pool as the host so no conflicting access commands are transmitted to the media library.