Photographs and Images in the ACOR Archives
The ACOR Library holds a remarkable photographic archive related to its role in preserving and promoting the country’s heritage. The complete collection, estimated to number more than 100,000 images, provides primary visual documentation of Jordan, including the major archaeological and cultural heritage projects the center has sponsored across the country over the decades. There are also many images from other countries in the MENA region including Yemen, Syria and Iraq. Given its broad range of content and subject matter, the ACOR Library photographic archive has the potential to be a crucial resource for American, Jordanian, and international scholars involved in cultural and natural heritage preservation and management.
The ACOR Library is currently in the process of making its valuable collection of images available to scholars. While ACOR has made several attempts in the past to make the photographic archive more accessible, including an early digitization effort funded through the Department of Education (2000–2002) and an initial attempt at archival-standard inventorying and storage supported through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (2012), the overwhelming size and complexity of the ever-growing collection, along with evolving digital standards and platforms, has made it difficult for the library’s limited staff to keep apace. Subsequently, preparations were made by ACOR for a larger scale grant-funded project to better characterize, preserve, and disseminate its collections.
In 2016, ACOR was awarded funds for its ACOR Research Library Photographic Archive Project (also known as the ACOR Photo Archive Project) through a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This grant-funded project is being carried out over a four-year period (2016–2020). As a first step in making this extensive archival collection available to researchers, the ACOR Library is processing, digitizing, and making fully accessible (and searchable) online a large proportion of ACOR’s major institutional and donated photographic holdings. Archivists and interns are working with the ACOR Library staff to process the following collections (totaling c. 30,000 photographs) that are being made available to researchers via its online photographic database: https://acor.digitalrelab.com/. You can also find out more information on our project page and access photo essays here: https://photoarchive.acorjordan.org/. You can follow the project through blogs on ACOR’s website, as well as on social media, especially through Instagram @acorarchives.
Following the success of the 2016-2020 project, a 2020-2024 project is now made possible through a Fiscal Year 2020 American Overseas Research Centers grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The project is entitled: The ACOR Digital Archive: Developing a Multimedia Teaching and Learning Resource, and will make over 18,000 images and multimedia resources available online.
The ACOR Photo Archive includes the following main collections from both grants, with new collections being added throughout the project. Important collections added to our database or in the process of being added include:
Rami G. Khouri Collection (c. 10,000 photographs): This expansive collection of slides and prints, donated in 2011 by Jordanian-American journalist and archaeological enthusiast Rami Khouri, provides visual documentation of countless cultural heritage and natural sites visited by Khouri on his journeys through Jordan in the 1980s and 90s. Significantly, the collection features photographs of not only major sites like Jerash, Petra, and Wadi Ramm, but scores of smaller, lesser known sites, many of which have remained little studied and are increasingly vulnerable to development and destruction. Read more about Rami Khouri.
Jane Taylor Collection (c. 10,000 photographs): Donated to ACOR in 2016, this collection features the photographs of acclaimed heritage and landscape photographer Jane Taylor, whose aerial photography work in Jordan and neighboring countries has spanned more than three decades. While much of Taylor’s photography focuses on Jordan and its various sites and landscapes, the collection also includes aerial and on-the-ground images of important sites in less visited countries, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Iran, as well as now threatened or destroyed sites in war-torn and destabilized countries like Syria, Yemen, Turkey, and Egypt. Visit the website for Jane Taylor’s photography.
ACOR Institutional Collection (c. 6,000 photographs): This large collection of negatives, slides, prints, and digital photographs documents ACOR’s operations and non-project related activities in Jordan since its founding in 1968. Especially critical are the photographic records of the five long-term directors who have served the center since 1975. These photographs document important ACOR events, the steady stream of ACOR fellows, scholars, and students, the gradual evolution of ACOR’s facilities and operations over the decades, and, most important, director visits to a range of archaeological, cultural, and natural sites across the country (and neighboring countries).
Kenneth W. Russell Collection (c. 1,000 photographs): This collection, donated by the family of the late archaeologist and Petra expert Kenneth Russell (d. 1992), provides a specialist’s view of the broad range of archaeological sites and features found in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Petra and surrounding regions. It also features a large number of photographs taken at important archaeological and natural sites in Jordan and neighboring countries, including Palestine, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Iran. Read also about the Kenneth W. Russell Memorial Fellowship at ACOR.
Miscellaneous Collections (c. 3,000 photographs): In addition to the major donated collections listed above, ACOR also holds much smaller photographic collections donated by various archaeologists, photographers, and travelers who worked at or visited different sites in Jordan. Included here are the photos of distinguished archaeologists such as Paul and Nancy Lapp, Linda K. Jacobs, George Bass, and Mohammad Najjar, as well as the landscape and site images of photographer Jay Guikema and ‘Aqaba-Ma‘an Archaeological and Epigraphic Survey project photographer Michael Bannigan.
By leveraging technology to make these photographs available and freely accessible, the ACOR Library will better equip American, Jordanian, and international researchers and policy makers to monitor and assess the numerous threats facing heritage sites in the Middle East and especially Jordan. What is more, this project is helping ACOR to establish best practices for processing and digitizing its much larger collection of photographic and archival records, particularly those related to official archaeological project documentation. ACOR is also committed to providing training and workshop opportunities in archival and digital preservation and building connections with institutions and individuals carrying out similar projects.
Project Team
Project Co-Leads
Jehad Haron (from 2024)
Archivist
Ryder Kouba (from 2021-2023)
Project Lead Consultant
Rawad Bou Malhab (2021)
Project Metadata Coordinator
Samya Khalaf Kafafi (from 2020 – )
Archives Assistant
Nora Al Omari (2024)
Nora Al Omari (from 2020-2022)
Outreach Project Archivist
Raghad Barakat (2022-2023)
Jude Maraka (2022)
Project Technical Archivist
Arzaq Abu Eid (2021)
Digitization Interns
Nathan Simons (2022)
Omar Omar (2022)
Community college and minority-serving institution consultant
Bryan Shuler
U. S. Educator Fellowship Program
Bryan Shuler – Community College / Minority Serving Institution Education Advisor
Breanna Hooks (2023 Fellow)
Dr. Monika Bachmann (2023 Fellow)
Rebecca J. Johnston (2023 Fellow)
Dr. Silvio Gaggi (2022 Fellow)
Lori Merlak (2022 Fellow)
Cassandra Ferril (2022 Fellow)
ACOR Photo Archive Project (2016 – 2020)
The list below includes those involved in the ACOR Photo Archive Project (2016 – 2020). We are grateful for all their hard work and dedication to help bring this project to fruition.
Project Co-Leads
Jack Green (2018-20)
Carmen (Humi) Al-Ayoubi (until March 2020)
Glenn Corbett (until March 2018)
Archivist
Jessica Holland (2019-20)
Project Coordinator: Metadata and Data Management
Samya Khalaf Kafafi
Project Archivists / Junior Archivists
Ashley Lumb (2019-20)
Rachael McGlensey (2019)
Jessica Holland (2018)
Steve Meyer (2017–18)
Corrie Commisso (2017)
Archival Technicians
Yousef Abu Ali (2016–February 2018)
Razan Ahmad (from February 2018)
Library and Archives Assistants
Eslam Dawodieh (from August 2019)
Hala Alsaqqa (until June 2019)
Archival Consultants
Charles Jones (from 2019)
Diane Ryan (2016–17)
Corrie Commisso (from 2017)
Evaluator
Aaron Rubinstein (2019-2020)
Digitization Interns
Eslam Dawodieh (January to July 2019)
Mustafa W. Al Qaisy (2018)
Hala Alsaqqa (2018)
Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh (2018)
Razan Ahmad (2017–18)
Meis Shahin (2017)
Brittany Ellis (2017)
Briefly About ACOR
The American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan, is a non‑profit, 501(c)(3) academic institution dedicated to promoting research and publication in the humanities and social sciences, with a particular focus on issues related to Jordan and the broader Middle East. ACOR exists both to facilitate research by postgraduate researchers and senior scholars and to assist in the training of future specialists who focus on all phases of Jordan’s past and present.
ACOR was founded in 1968 to serve specifically as a research base for American scholars working in Jordan. The initial objective was to facilitate American participation in the excavation, documentation, and preservation of Jordan’s rich archaeological remains. ACOR’s mission has evolved over the decades to support a broad range of research and disciplinary interests, however, the preservation and presentation of the Kingdom’s archaeological and cultural heritage remains a priority for ACOR.
The ACOR Library houses one of the best English-language academic collections focused on heritage to be found in the entire Middle East and serves the public, resident fellows and researchers, the local academic community, and many international constituents n Jordan. The library holdings currently include more than 45,000 volumes, journals, and digital resources related to the varied disciplines supported by ACOR’s mission. In recent years, ACOR has also worked to expand its other electronic holdings, which now include online subscriptions to more than 40 journals covering a range of disciplines and research areas. The ACOR Library collection is maintained by two full-time librarians, a library and archival assistant, and several interns, all of whom are available to assist researchers with locating library resources.
Last updated August 10, 2020
