RDA and archives: the search for a bridge between different domains

Abstract

Since its inception in 2012, the MAB Toscana has operated through multi professional working groups with membership drawn from libraries, archives and museums, having in common a concern on interoperability and shared services. For this reason, the Italian translation of the RDA guidelines, which are proposed as a potentially usable tool for archival fonds and museum collections, has been welcomed with great interest. A working group has tested the application of RDA to the fonds of the Ligue européenne de coopération économique, highlighting strengths and weaknesses in relation to archival standards (ISAD-G and ISAAR-CPF). In the meanwhile, the Records in Contexts model (RIC-CM) established by the International Council on Archives was presented in Italy and attracted interest for its provision of relation techniques between entities for archival description, while defining for each of them individual properties.

Nowadays, the focus on quality of data produced by archives, libraries and museums in the context of the semantic web makes it possible to launch a debate between professional communities that have been pursuing parallel avenues for too long. The MAB Toscana wanted to conduct the test which has been illustrated here with the aim of contributing to the harmonization of tools and methods for effectively accessing cultural heritage information resources.