AT&T Creates New App and Website to Bring "To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis" Exhibit to Online World

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T, collaborating with the National Archives, its John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the Foundation for the National Archives, and the Kennedy Library Foundation, has created an app and website of the new exhibit, "To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis," bringing it to online audiences around the world.  The app for iPad is available for free download in the App Store.  At www.JFKCMC.org, Android, smartphone, other tablet and laptop users can also experience the exhibit.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120612/DA23287LOGO)

"To the Brink" is a new exhibit at the National Archives that looks back at the Cuban Missile Crisis from the 50-year mark. The exhibit shows President Kennedy and his advisers in the throes of deliberation during 13 agonizing days in October 1962, as the United States and the then-Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war. The peaceful resolution of the crisis, resulting in the removal of Soviet nuclear missiles from Cuba, is considered to be one of Kennedy's greatest achievements.

As lead sponsor of "To the Brink," AT&T worked with the National Archives, its Kennedy Library, and their foundations to create the free app.  AT&T worked with Seattle-based Treemo Labs to build the app.

"AT&T is proud to bring virtual access to this remarkable exhibit assembled by the National Archives and its John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum," said Jim Cicconi, AT&T senior executive vice president.  "Through the power of innovative technologies and networks, many more Americans will be able to experience an exhibit -- including the actual recordings of President Kennedy and his advisors --- that brings to life one of the most important moments in American history." 

"We are deeply appreciative of AT&T's longtime support of the National Archives," said Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero. "Through its partnerships with our foundations, the company has supported the digitization of many records from the Kennedy administration to make them accessible online, and has supported great educational exhibitions like 'Discovering the Civil War' and 'To the Brink.' This new app and website help us to reach an even larger audience so that people around the globe can explore the important records of our history."

"AT&T has helped us to rethink the possibilities of how the public accesses information, helping us to create the nation's first digital presidential archives," said Tom Putnam, director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. "No longer do researchers need to travel to Boston to access President Kennedy's materials; they are all available online.  We hope visitors will come to DC and Boston to experience this exciting new exhibit, but if they cannot do so, the exhibit can travel to them via this new app and website."

"So much of what our foundation has supported at the National Archives involves harnessing new media to spread the word about the great treasure of historical records here," added A'Lelia Bundles, Chair and President of the Foundation for the National Archives, the Archives' private-sector partner. "Through innovative websites like the Digital Vaults and DocsTeach, through Facebook and other new media, we have been able to expand our reach, so that students, teachers, and lifelong learners can access and use the records of our democracy. Great partnerships like this one with AT&T make it all possible, and we are most grateful for their support."

"To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis" is currently showing at the National Archives' Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery in Washington, DC.  Early next year, the exhibit will travel to the Kennedy Library in Boston.

Visitors to "To the Brink" will hear recordings of the President in White House meetings with his closest advisors, working to avert thermonuclear war after the Soviet Union installed missiles in Cuba capable of targeting the United States. The recordings and other National Archives records document the dramatic events that brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of war and back again.

Exhibit Curator Stacey Bredhoff of the Kennedy Library authored an accompanying exhibition catalog, also titled To the Brink, published by the Foundation for the National Archives.

As lead sponsor of the exhibit, AT&T donated $500,000 to support "To the Brink," in addition to the creation of the app. AT&T also has had a long history of supporting the great work of the National Archives and JFK Library and Museum. It was a founding technical partner in the creation of the Kennedy Presidential Library's online digital archives, a $2.23 million in-kind support project to preserve, catalogue, and digitize the papers of President Kennedy and make them available to the public through the World Wide Web.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates - AT&T operating companies - are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse(r) and AT&T | DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATT.

About the National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administrationis an independent Federal agency that preserves and shares with the public records that trace the story of our nation, government, and the American people. From the Declaration of Independence to accounts of ordinary Americans, the holdings of the National Archives directly touch the lives of millions of people. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries, and online at www.archives.gov.

About the National Archives Experience
The National Archives Experience, created by the National Archives in partnership with the Foundation for the National Archives, has transformed the visitor experience at the National Archives' Washington, DC, building, and includes a renovated Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom, the award-winning Public Vaults permanent interactive exhibition, the William G. McGowan Theater, the Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery for special exhibits, the Boeing Learning Center, and the Digital Vaults and DocsTeach websites. These components make the rich resources of the National Archives accessible to Americans nationwide.

About the Foundation for the National Archives
The Foundation for the National Archives is an independent nonprofit that serves as the National Archives' private-sector partner in the creation of and ongoing support of the National Archives Experience, which includes permanent exhibits, educational programs, traveling exhibits, special events and film screenings, educational literature, and historical/records-related products and media. The Foundation helps the public understand the importance of the holdings of the National Archives by presenting the depth and diversity of the records through award-winning, interactive educational exhibits and programs. It generates financial and creative support for the National Archives Experience from individuals, foundations, and corporations who share a belief in the importance of innovative civics education.

About the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. In addition to being the world's principal center for research on the life of John F. Kennedy and American democracy in the early 1960s, the Library serves as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy and a source of inspiration about the values of a democratic society in a free world and how they can be served today.

About the Kennedy Library Foundation
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that provides financial support, staffing, and creative resources for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The Kennedy Library Foundation is not a grant-making foundation. Through its Board of Directors, its committees and staff, the Foundation assists the Library in the planning and establishment of its long-term strategic goals and objectives and provides the Library with financial and creative resources with which to enrich its many educational programs, to expand its research and archival capacity and to enhance its museum and exhibits.

About Treemo Labs
Founded in 2005, Treemo Labs provides robust mobile apps publishing platform with integrated social media, social networking, location services and gaming powered by advanced, web-based, content management tools. Treemo's Appavideo, Appafolio and Flowboard products enable companies, artists and anyone to create amazing, custom video, photo, portfolio and presentation iPhone®, iPad® and Android apps and experiences. Treemo Labs has built and manages apps for some of the biggest brands in the world. For more information, visit www.treemolabs.com.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.