I was doing a bit of data cleanup today, and found some moderately interesting items. I was looking at the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, and correcting the way we represented some ship names – specifically those that were used multiple times by the US Navy. In looking over the information we have about US Naval vessel names, I found that there were about 1451 names that were used at least twice; 470 used at least three times; 182 used at least four times; 83 used at least five times; and 30 used at least six times.

Boston, Shark, and all those that follow have each been used seven times; Enterprise, Hornet, Morris, Niagara, and Washington each top out at eight uses. Wasp has been used nine times, and Ranger has been used ten times.

These numbers don’t include ships that already entered with numbers in their name, such as Lexington II; Lexington II entered the Navy with that name and kept it, while each of the five various naval vessels named Lexington all kept the same name, Lexington.

These numbers are most likely pretty close to accurate, though if you spot an anomaly among them, please let me (and other readers) know. I analyzed the names of the vessels listed in DANFS to come up with the numbers, so it’s limited to the vessels included in the current DANFS online at the navy.mil site.

Hoo-boy. Big Day here at ShipIndex.org’s Eastern US World Headquarters.

We’ve decided that it’s time to find the right person to help us with institutional sales. To that end, we are putting out this job announcement and are looking for someone to join our team. If you’re that person, or know someone who might be, please let them and us know.  Please help us by sharing this information widely.

In a nutshell, this is a position for a person who knows libraries, and knows library sales. This is a work-from-home position, and we don’t necessarily expect a full-time commitment, though because of the graduated commission structure, it might be worth it. (We can talk about salaries and commission further down the line, maybe not right here on the blog.) The job doesn’t require a lot of travel, except for the usual big library conferences.

The posting is below; please let us know if you have questions, or would like to be considered for the position. We hope to make a decision, and get moving on this, as quickly as we can.

Manager, Institutional Sales, ShipIndex.org

ShipIndex.org seeks a part-time or full-time person to lead and manage all aspects of the company’s institutional sales. The successful applicant will have a documented history of successful institutional sales management; a demonstrated ability to work independently as a self-starter; and an understanding of libraries and how they use and manage electronic resources.

ShipIndex.org helps people do research on specific ships, boats, and vessels. We have a database of over 1.3 million citations – and growing – that tells people what books, journals, websites, and databases mention the vessel they’re researching. We offer our service directly to consumers and also to institutions. ShipIndex.org is a valuable tool for public, academic, and special libraries, primarily in supporting genealogy and history, but with additional application in many other fields. The successful applicant’s responsibility will be all institutional sales, in the US and abroad, with support as needed from the rest of the company. Physical location is not an issue, though the individual must be able to work in the US legally.

Compensation is primarily commission-based, with a part-time salary component. While we expect a minimum of 20 hours per week invested in the work, most of the compensation is in a sliding-scale commission structure, so there is a clear benefit to a greater time investment. This is a telephone sales position, so minimal travel is expected, with the exception of occasional conferences, such as ALA Annual, ALA Midwinter, PLA, ACRL, and others, as appropriate. The successful candidate will participate in decisions regarding which conferences s/he attends.

Responsibilities include following up on leads generated online and at conferences, generating new leads, explaining the product and its benefits to potential customers, managing consortial sales and promotion, advising the company on marketing and sales strategies and tools, helping customers through the invoicing and licensing process, providing limited support as needed and with significant assistance from the rest of the company, and other duties as necessary in guiding institutional sales.

At present, ShipIndex.org consists of two owners, who live on opposite sides of the country. The successful candidate will be the company’s first employee; applicants must be certain they’re comfortable working in this size of a company.

If you’re interested in applying, please submit a work history and a cover letter explaining your interest in the position and the library industry. An interest in maritime history is also helpful, but not required. Please include the names of at least three references. All applications will be held in strictest confidence.

We welcome questions about the position. Questions and applications may be submitted to careers [at] shipindex [dot] org.