WASHINGTON (AP) - The Library of Congress is embarking on an extensive plan that will serve as a blueprint for preserving the nation's history in recorded sound.

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The plan released Wednesday has 32 recommendations to help about 14,000 libraries and archives nationwide coordinate their efforts in preserving sound recordings. Congress called for the plan in 2000.

The Library of Congress already saves some key historic audio selections each year. But curators say many other recordings are being lost due to a lack of storage capacity, changing technology, inadequate funding and disparate copyright laws for works created before 1972.

Researchers say more than half of the oldest recordings have already been lost. Some key recordings made by George Gershwin, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland no longer survive.