The RiC entities & relations
The entity types you describe, the relations that connect them, and how to think about Record vs Record Set vs Record Part - with the live model navigator.
RiC describes archival material as entities joined by relations. Get these right and the rest follows.
Entities you’ll use most
| Entity | Code | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Record | RiC-E04 | One unit of recorded content (a letter, a recording, a file) |
| Record Set | RiC-E03 | An aggregation - fonds, series, collection, a run of volumes |
| Record Part | RiC-E05 | A component of a record (a track, a register entry, an attachment) |
| Agent | RiC-E07 | A creator/actor - Person (E08), Family (E10), Corporate Body (E11) |
| Activity | RiC-E15 | Something done - a business process, a recording session, a crawl |
| Place | RiC-E22 | A bounded, named location |
| Instantiation | RiC-E06 | A carrier of a record - the paper, the file, the print, the scan |
| Rule | RiC-E16 | A mandate, statute or retention policy governing records |
Browse every entity, attribute and relation in the RiC-CM navigator - it shows declared vs inherited members so you always know where an attribute comes from.
Record vs Record Set vs Record Part
The decision people ask about most:
- Record Set - an aggregation of records grouped by shared attributes (a fonds, a series, an album, a newspaper title).
- Record - a single unit of content (one letter, one photograph, one issue).
- Record Part - a component of one record with its own content (a track on a tape, an entry in a register, an attachment on an email). Parts carry their own creator, place, date and subject - which is how a single carrier holds mixed provenance.
The modelling wizard walks this decision on real material.
Relations connect them
Relations are how RiC becomes a graph. The common ones (server relation codes):
| Relation code | Links | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
has_creator |
record → agent | who created it |
has_or_had_location |
record → place | where |
has_or_had_subject |
record → agent/concept | what it’s about |
has_instantiation |
record → instantiation | its carrier(s) |
has_derived_instantiation |
instantiation → instantiation | a surrogate’s lineage |
results_from / performed_by |
record → activity → agent | provenance chain |
is_child_of / has_family_member |
agent → agent | kinship |
is_regulated_by |
record → rule | governing mandate |
Per-entity provenance lives on relations, not on free-text fields - that’s what makes it queryable.
Next
- Modelling with the wizard
- Creating data - turn this model into live entities
Something missing or unclear? Tell us in Discussions or email johan@theahg.co.za.