Ok I thought this is a really cool article. It is from the Seattle Times and it is entitled, New method could revive old sounds .

I am a sci-fi geek. So when I came upon this article I thought it was kind of neat to see how the science of study quarks and other subatomic particles could help out libraries and repositories of old fragile sound recordings.
Scientists happen to hear a program on NPR about the extreme fragile state of old recordings in the Library of Congress. Of the 2.5 million recordings in the library's collection, 1.5 million are on wax cylinders or discs, which are especially vulnerable to damage. Things like Thomas Edisons's first recordings, Queen Victoria, and a sound recording of the assination of President Kennedy are so fragile and that they are unavailable and have never been heard since they were originally recorded.

Scientists make microscopic images of the grooves that etch the sound into a wax cylinder or phonograph record. Then a computer turns it into a digital soundtrack. The computer is able to subtract the scratches and hisses to let the clear original recording come through.

This just makes a completely closed collection to be available for the world allowing for people to study everything from Queen Victoria, news casts from WW II, and original folk music.
Wow very cool.