The demand for increases in the capacity and speed of data storage tests the limits of conventional technologies and drives the search for new approaches. Optical holography has long held the promise of storage densities and data transfer rates far greater than those of traditional magnetic and optical systems. In the past, its realization has been frustrated by the lack of availability of suitable system components, the complexity of holographic multiplexing strategies, and perhaps most importantly, the absence of recording materials that satisfied the stringent requirements of holographic data storage. Here we report on the design and development of a high-performance photopolymer recording medium and on advances in the design of a holographic storage system that