The ODS special conference offers an excellent forum for exchanging information on the status, advances, and future directions in the field of optical data storage. The Blu-ray Disc, which is the latest generation optical data storage system, is growing in the commercial market. However, competition with hard disk drives and solid state drives, as well as the growth of storage in the cloud, is making it unclear what the future ODS system might look like. New developments in technologies for next generation systems such as holographic, multi-dimensional, and hybrid recording will be the main focus at this conference. New concepts based on nano-scale optical materials and phenomena will also be explored. Developments and methodologies in the related areas such as nano-photonics and bio-photonics are expected to influence future optical data storage and will be in the spotlight of this conference. Contributions in a variety of areas ranging from basic theory and modeling, to systems and applications for industrial and consumer use are strongly encouraged.