Open RiC-native architecture, tools, and interoperability for next-generation archival systems.
OpenRiC is the public RiC-native initiative, framework, documentation, and ecosystem layer maintained by The Archive and Heritage Group. It centralises RiC implementation guidance, semantic tooling, mappings, and community collaboration for the international archival community.
OpenRiC is not a competing platform. It is the RiC-native semantic and interoperability layer that powers contextual capabilities within Heratio, the operational archival and GLAM platform — and supports standalone semantic use cases where needed.
- RiC-CM / RiC-O implementation guidance
- Graph explorers and contextual visualisation
- SPARQL access and semantic query examples
- JSON-LD / RDF outputs
- Mappings from archival standards and legacy schemas to RiC
- Linked-data and triplestore integration guidance
- SHACL and semantic validation patterns
- Examples of traditional view vs RiC view rendering
- Reusable semantic services and integration approaches
- Sample datasets, examples, and reference architectures
As the OpenRiC ecosystem matures, it may be organised into dedicated repositories:
openric— central overview, architecture, roadmap, examplesopenric-docs— documentation site source and implementation guidesopenric-explorer— graph explorer and related UI componentsopenric-mappings— mappings between archival standards and RiCopenric-validation— SHACL, test cases, and validation toolingopenric-examples— sample datasets, JSON-LD, SPARQL, rendering examples
Lead with Heratio or the relevant operational platform, and describe OpenRiC as the RiC-native capability layer powering contextual and interoperability features.
Lead with OpenRiC, and show how it can support or integrate with operational archival platforms.
Use OpenRiC as the home for graph-first demonstrations, mappings, semantic validation, and linked-data workflows.
- Keep operational platform strength where it already exists
- Make RiC a first-class equal mode rather than a hidden add-on
- Centralise the public RiC narrative under OpenRiC
- Produce reusable architecture, tooling, documentation, and mapping artifacts
- Support both embedded and standalone semantic use cases where appropriate
Heratio is the operational archival and GLAM platform for workflows, hierarchy, editing, and day-to-day operations.
OpenRiC provides the RiC-native semantic architecture, graph capabilities, and interoperability approaches that can be integrated into Heratio or used independently.
Complementary, not competing.
OpenRiC is intended to support a practical, standards-aware, and implementation-focused RiC ecosystem.
Areas of contribution include:
- Architecture and modelling
- Mappings and transforms
- Validation and SHACL rules
- Graph and linked-data tooling
- Documentation and examples
- Integration with archival and GLAM platforms
Discussions welcome on the ICA Records in Contexts users Google Group.
The Archive and Heritage Group Johan Pieterse — theahg.co.za
OpenRiC centralises the RiC-native story, while platforms such as Heratio deliver the operational archival experience.