The best part of my job as a digital archivist with Starchive is getting to work with individuals and organizations who have some of the most incredible collections of content in the world. One of those is the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR), in Amman, Jordan, whose online historical photo archive is featured in the November issue of The Ancient Near East Today.

Full disclosure: I might be a little partial to this project because I had the privilege of being the project archivist who helped to launch it back in 2017. That’s right: I was a Starchive client first — and it was my experience with both ACOR and Starchive that made me realize I wanted to help others preserve critical collections for future generations.

Starchive plays a vital role in ACOR’s work, as the platform that facilitates accessibility, search, sharing, and metadata collaboration. We’re honored to be the trusted digital asset management solution for organizations like ACOR, and proud to share the great work our clients do around the world.

ACOR’s archive of more than 100,000 historical photos covers nearly eight decades of change across the countries of the Middle East…and it only takes a brief survey of news headlines to understand how much has changed in the region — and how much remains at stake.  The ACOR collection is a pivotal tool for researchers and policy makers to monitor and assess threats facing heritage sites in the region, as well as invaluable documentation of sites that have been destroyed by conflict, development, and illicit excavation.