An automated data library system employs a calibration sensor, the fiducial target and a controller in electrical communication with the calibration sensor to create a calibration sensor pixel image of a calibration area surrounding an expected location of the fiducial target within the automated data storage library by executing one or more vertical calibration sensor scans and/or one or more horizontal calibration sensor scans of the calibration area, and monitoring an output of the calibration sensor scans at defined position intervals. The expected location of the fiducial target can be on a data storage drive of the library or a storage shelf of the library. The controller can execute a debugging procedure, a diagnostic test and/or an error recovery procedure based on the calibration sensor pixel image.