The compact disk ROM: How it works: An offshoot of the compact digital audio disk, this multimegabyte storage technique is revolutionizing database technology

In the world of the CD-ROM, paper is largely obsolete. So are file clerks for retrieving information. A filing cabinet's worth of records can be stored on one disk, as can a 20-volume, 9-million-word encyclopedia or financial data on 10000 corporations. Even more remarkable, any piece of information in each mass of data can be made available on demand in seconds.