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A couple of months ago, I went to the Washington Navy Yard (one of the most classic, colonial settings right on the shores of the Anacostia River) to meet with Todd Creekman,
the Executive Director of NHF. At the meeting, I gave him digital copies of the work we have done with the Navy so far. We are very proud of our work with Military Commands,
and want to make sure everything is archived for historical purposes in all the right places. The Naval Historical Foundation—with offices in the same building as the Naval History and Heritage Command,
the Cruise Book Library, and Navy Commemorations—is exactly where I wanted our Navy projects to land, so I was pleased that Todd was so willing to accept our work.
It was quickly apparent that not only was Todd eager to accept our projects, but he immediately grasped the significance of the watershed work we’re doing.
Aside from the full-service help we give ships—so a collateral-duty “volunteer” on board doesn’t have to figure out how to make a cruise book—here’s
what the huge value proposition is for the historical archivists:
Right now, the Naval Historical Foundation collaborates with the very large Cruise Book library in the same building. If they get a request for a copy of a lost cruise book, the Foundation is not able to reprint that book because a) they don’t have the original PDFs for the book and b) it is inordinately expensive. Their only option is to photocopy each page, which still ends up costing up to $200, sometimes $300 for one book. Because part of RMS’s unique service includes a complete interactive DVD-ROM (up to 10,000 digital pages, hours of video, thousands of documents, newsletters, press releases, letters, etc.), we can also include the original PDFs of the book on that DVD-ROM. These are easily copied, saved to hard drives, and shared. The owner can also print up his or her own copies of the actual Cruise Book right at home, or call the Naval Historical Foundation if they would like assistance, or order a brand new DVD-ROM from their ship’s deployment for under $10.
The entire RMS team is excited about our new friendship and partnership with Todd and his team at the Naval Historical Foundation! As we continue building awareness throughout the Navy of our innovative capabilities, we look forward to providing the NHF with many more Cruise Books with DVD-ROM for years to come!
V/R
Sharlene
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