A method to set a rotation rate for an optical holographic data storage medium by determining if the optical storage layer comprises an alternating series of lands and grooves. If the optical storage layer does not comprise an alternating series of lands and grooves, the method rotates the optical holographic data storage medium at a rotation rate based upon a data acquisition rate for pit-recorded information. If the optical storage layer comprises an alternating series of lands and grooves and the distance between alternating grooves increases as a function of the distance from said center point, then the method rotates the optical holographic data storage medium at a constant angular velocity. If the distance between alternating grooves does not increase as a function of the distance from said center point, then the method rotates the optical holographic data storage medium at a constant linear velocity.