Library of Congress racing to preserve vast CD collection

"This is where the idea of accelerated aging comes in. The CDs are actually cooked in chambers, and by manipulating the humidity and temperature, the discs can be aged a certain number of years.

"They were aged under the same conditions. One survived; one did not," France said. "So that's the challenge we have - that you never quite know how it's going to affect your CD."

And if you want to preserve your CD collection at home, here are a few tips: "Probably don't put any nice, fancy labels onto the top of CDs," France said.

And, fair warning, you want to avoid those Sharpies."

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