Release of RiC-O Converter v3.0.0

[CLAVAUD Florence]

Dear RiC users,

I am pleased to announce the release of version 3.0.0 of the open source RiC-O Converter software. See the release here: https://github.com/ArchivesNationalesFR/rico-converter/releases/tag/3.0.0.

RiC-O Converter allows to convert XML finding aids conforming to the EAD 2002 DTD, or XML authority records on persons, corporate bodies and families conforming to the EAC-CPF schema, into RDF datasets conforming to RiC-O. It is a powerful, reliable, fast, easy-to-install and use free software. It is fully documented in French and English, configurable and adaptable.

The previous major version of the software, version 2.0, released in October 2023, allowed to produce RDF data conforming to RiC-O 0.2. Version 3.0.0 includes some corrections and enhancements, and it produces data that conforms to RiC-O 1.1, a version of RiC-O that is currently being finalized and that the RiC-O development team will publish at the end of February or March 2025.

With the Sparna company specializing in semantic technologies, the Lab of the Archives nationales de France (AnF) has developed and maintained this software since 2019. The main objective is to allow the AnF to easily and reliably semantize, producing a consistent graph of linked entities, massive sets of XML files (currently, more than 32,000 finding aids containing more than 11 million descriptions of records, and more than 16,000 authority records), which currently enables the AnF to advance in various projects that use RiC-O. The software only takes into account the elements and attributes used by the AnF in the EAD DTD and the EAC-CPF schema (i.e. the majority of these components), as they are used now. It can be adapted (by any person who would be a good XSLT2 developer, and who would know well the XML models used and RiC-O).

The project led us to produce mappings between the two XML models and RiC-O, which can be reused in other projects. The formal specifications of the conversion were developed in the form of unit tests that also ensure that the software produces what is expected. The mappings and unit tests are included in the release.

Finally, I would like to point out that we should be able to publish a version 4 of RiC-O Converter in a few weeks. This version will include SHACL rules to control the quality of the RDF data produced by the software, as well as some documentation explaining how to use and adapt the rule files.

For more information, see the documentation available in two languages (https://archivesnationalesfr.github.io/rico-converter/), and the GitHub repository of the converter (https://github.com/ArchivesNationalesFR/rico-converter/).

Do not hesitate to contact me for any questions or information. Thomas Francart (Sparna company), who is also a member of this list, is also available to answer questions.

Best regards,

Florence Clavaud
Executive member of ICA/EGAD ; lead of RiC-O development team
Conservatrice générale du patrimoine | General curator
Responsable du Lab aux Archives nationales de France| head of the Lab, Archives nationales de France

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Merci de nous aider à préserver l'environnement en n'imprimant ce courriel et les documents joints que si nécessaire.

[Jhon Gonzalez]

Dear all,

I am pleased to see the release of version 3.0.0 of the open-source RiC-O Converter! 🎉

I would like to offer my support for translating the software into Spanish, ensuring that a wider community can benefit from this important tool. If there is an ongoing effort or if support is needed, I am happy to collaborate.

You can check out the official release here: RiC-O Converter 3.0.0.

Looking forward to contributing!

Best regards,

Jhon Gonzalez