Records in Contexts

Records in Contexts (RiC) is a standard for describing records developed and maintained by the Expert Group on Archival Description (EGAD) of the International Council on Archives. RiC comprises multiple components: a conceptual model (RiC-CM), a formal ontology (RiC-O), foundational documentation (RiC-FAD), and application guidelines (RiC-AG), with the first three reaching version 1.0 in late 2023.

The standard serves both archival and records management communities, treating digital and physical records equally while enabling expression of complex relationships between records and their creators, holders, subjects, and users. RiC consolidates and supersedes four predecessor ICA standards: ISAD(G), ISAAR(CPF), ISDF, and ISDIAH, moving away from strictly hierarchical description toward a network of context centered on individual records. The ontology is published as RDF/OWL, making RiC a natural fit for linked-data archival systems and graph-based discovery infrastructure.