Vision
Heratio is the operational GLAM, archival, DAM, and records management platform. OpenRiC is the RiC-native semantic layer that sits beside it — providing contextual relationships, linked data, graph querying, and interoperability.
The aim is not to replace Heratio with a separate RiC product. The aim is to make Heratio and RiC operate as equal presentation modes over the same archival reality.
Dual-View Model
Every major entity page in Heratio supports two modes:
- Heratio View — traditional archival description (title, identifier, dates, extent, scope and content, creator, conditions of access, digital objects)
- RiC View — relationship-centred structure (RiC entity type, parent/child relations, creator/accumulator links, related agents, functions, activities, places, instantiations, provenance assertions, graph panel)
This is a seamless switch, not a jump to another application.
Architectural Target
Application Layer (Heratio)
- Primary UI, workflows, editing, administration
- Roles and permissions, import/export, digital object management
- Institutional deployments
Semantic Layer (OpenRiC / RiC)
- Contextual relationships and linked data
- Semantic traversal and graph querying
- JSON-LD / RDF outputs
- SHACL and semantic validation
- Relationship authority over time
Persistence Strategy
| Layer |
Role |
Technology |
| AtoM-compatible |
Continuity, migration, existing deployments |
MySQL |
| Heratio-native |
New operational domains (workflow, audit, jobs, AI metadata, validation, reports) |
PostgreSQL |
| RiC graph |
Relationships, linked data, semantic authority |
Triplestore (Fuseki) |
Over time:
- AtoM-compatible structures become a compatibility and transition layer
- PostgreSQL becomes the primary operational domain layer
- RiC graph services become the primary contextual and semantic relationship layer
Service Layer
The UI should not depend directly on legacy table assumptions. Explicit service contracts decouple the interface from persistence:
- DescriptionRepository
- AgentRepository
- ContextRelationRepository
- FunctionRepository
- PlaceRepository
- InstantiationRepository
- ProvenanceRepository
Each major entity type supports dual renderers (Heratio and RiC) sharing identity and permissions.
RiC Relationship Service
A central relationship service provides:
- Fetch related entities by relation type
- Explain why items are related
- Build graph summaries
- Return timeline and context snippets
- Support both page rendering and API responses
What We Are Doing
- Making RiC visible and usable in normal Heratio workflows
- Creating dual-view entities throughout the platform
- Preserving Heratio as the main operational shell
- Raising RiC to equal footing through rendering, search, traversal, and services
What We Are Not Doing
- Not building OpenRiC as a competing production product
- Not abandoning AtoM compatibility immediately
- Not forcing end users to browse ontology classes instead of archival concepts
- Not making RiC a hidden side panel or export-only feature