Competency F
Use the basic concepts and principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation of physical and digital information items.
Understanding the Competency
Competency F emphasizes the application of foundational principles related to the selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation of both physical and digital information objects. These principles form the core of collection management in libraries, archives, and other information institutions. Information professionals must identify and acquire materials of value, and ensure that those materials remain accessible, understandable, and usable for future audiences.
The concept of an “information object” encompasses both physical and digital materials. Michael Buckland (1991) famously defined information as something that can be considered “information-as-thing,” meaning that physical artifacts, documents, images, and digital files serve as carriers of knowledge and evidence. Understanding this broad definition is essential for librarians and archivists, as it frames how materials are selected, described, and preserved.
Selection and evaluation involve determining which materials should become part of a collection and assessing their relevance, authenticity, and long-term value. Theodore Schellenberg (1956) argued that archivists must assess both the primary value of records for administrative purposes and their secondary value for historical or research use. As he explains, records “have two types of value: the primary values to the originating agency and the secondary values to other agencies and to non-government users,”. This evaluation process requires careful judgment and professional expertise.
Organization is another fundamental component of collection management. Information professionals must develop classification systems, metadata structures, and descriptive frameworks that allow users to discover and interpret materials effectively. Proper organization ensures that information objects are preserved and usable.
Finally, preservation ensures the long-term survival of materials. Preservation strategies vary depending on whether materials are physical or digital. Margaret Hedstrom (1998) warned that digital information is inherently fragile and requires ongoing technological management to remain accessible. Preservation, therefore, is not a passive activity but an active, continuous process.
Together, these principles guide the stewardship of collections across libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutions.
Why It Matters to the Profession
The principles outlined in Competency F are fundamental to the mission of the information profession. Libraries and archives play a critical role in preserving cultural memory, and ensuring that knowledge remains accessible across generations. As Terry Cook (1997) argues, archivists are not simply passive custodians of historical materials but active participants in shaping the historical records through their appraisal and selection decisions.
These responsibilities require careful judgment, ethical awareness, and adherence to professional standards. Decisions about what to collect and preserve influence how generations understand history and culture. For this reason, information professionals must apply systematic and transparent criteria when managing collections.
Collection development policies are central to this process. A well-designed collection development policy establishes guidelines for acquisition, appraisal, preservation priorities, and access. Such policies help institutions make consistent decisions. Without a clear policy framework, collection management decisions may become inconsistent or unsustainable.
In addition, the rapid growth of digital information has significantly expanded the responsibilities of information professionals. Abby Smith (1999) notes that digital preservation requires new institutional strategies, including infrastructure planning, redundancy systems, and long-term maintenance commitments. Libraries and archives must therefore balance the stewardship of traditional physical collections with the challenges of digital preservation.
Competency F reflects the evolving role of information professionals as stewards of both analog and digital cultural heritage.
Awareness of Concepts and Principles in an Information Environment
Modern information environments are complex and dynamic. Information professionals must manage materials that exist across a wide range of formats. Each format presents unique preservation challenges and organizational requirements. Physical collections require environmental controls, specialized storage conditions, and careful handling practices to prevent deterioration. Digital collections, in contrast, require ongoing maintenance of file formats, metadata, storage systems, and access platforms. Hedstrom (1998) describes digital preservation as a “time bomb,” because technological obsolescence can quickly render digital materials inaccessible if preservation strategies are not implemented.
Organization and description are equally important in digital environments. Metadata, classification systems, and descriptive standards allow users to locate materials efficiently and understand their context. Without proper organization, even well-preserved materials may remain effectively invisible to users. Information professionals must therefore integrate multiple theoretical frameworks–including archival theory, digital preservation practices, and information organization principles–into their collection management strategies.
Impact of Information Retrieval Systems on the Organization
The principles of selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation significantly influence how information institutions operate and determine policies. For example, selection and evaluation determine which materials become part of an institution's holdings. These decisions must align with the institution’s mission, available resources, and user needs. Preservation considerations also influence acquisition decisions, as institutions must ensure they have the capacity to properly maintain fragile or complex materials.
Organization and description affect how users interact with collections. Effective-finding aids, metadata structures, and classification systems enhance discoverability and enable meaningful research. Conversely, poorly organized collections can create barriers to access and diminish the value of preserved materials. Ultimately, Competency F reflects the responsibility of information professionals to act as stewards of cultural heritage. Through careful application of these principles, librarians and archivists must ensure that collections remain accessible, meaningful, and sustainable over time.
Evidence 1
The first piece of evidence demonstrating my mastery of Competency F is my preservation analysis titled “Nature and Deterioration of Analog Materials: Silk Textiles,” completed in INFO 259: Preservation Management (Spring 2024). This assignment required a detailed examination of a specific analog material, and the environmental and chemical factors that influence its deterioration.
Description of the Artifact
The paper begins by examining the historical development of silk production, and its global influence through the Silk Road. This context highlights how silk became associated with trade, cultural exchange, and luxury goods across many societies. By exploring this history, the assignment situates silk as an artifact that reflects societal developments over time. Cultural heritage institutions today continue to preserve silk textiles, because they provide insight into historical craftsmanship and the social environments in which they were created.
After establishing the historical significance of silk, the paper examines the physical composition of silk fibers and the scientific processes that contribute to their deterioration. Silk is primarily composed of fibroid and sericin proteins. These organic compounds are highly sensitive to environmental conditions. Light exposure weakens the fibers over time and causes discoloration, and changes in temperature and humidity can accelerate chemical reactions that damage the internal structure of the fibers. The assignment also explores the historical practice of weighting silk with metallic salts. While weighting improved the texture and drape of fragments, the metallic compounds introduced acidity that often caused the fibers to become brittle as they aged.
The final portion of the paper addresses preservation strategies used by museums and archives. Silk objects must be stored in environments where temperature and humidity remain stable in order to slow the deterioration process. Light exposure must also be carefully controlled, because ultraviolet radiation can cause irreversible damage to textile fibers. The paper also discusses appropriate handling procedures. Silk textiles require careful physical support during movement, because their weakened fibers can easily tear under strain. Through this discussion the assignment demonstrates that textile preservation relies on a combination of environmental management, careful handling practices, and ongoing monitoring of storage conditions.
Justification and Connection to the Competency
This artifact demonstrates my understanding of evaluation and preservation principles, which are central components of Competency F. Preservation management requires information professionals to understand the physical properties of the materials within their collections. Without this knowledge, institutions cannot develop effective strategies to protect objects from deterioration. By researching the chemical composition of silk and the environmental factors that influence its degradation, I developed a stronger understanding of how scientific knowledge informs preservation practices.
The assignment also illustrates how preservation considerations influence collection management decisions. Cultural heritage institutions must evaluate whether they have the necessary resources to properly preserve fragile materials before acquiring them. Silk textiles require controlled environments, appropriate storage systems, and staff with knowledge of conservation practices. If these conditions cannot be maintained, the materials may deteriorate more quickly after entering a collection. This evaluation process is an important part of responsible stewardship.
Another key concept demonstrated in this project is the role of collection development policies. these policies guide institutional decisions about what materials should be collected and how resources should be allocated to support long-term preservation. Shellenberg (1956) explains that archivists must evaluate records for their informational value and their lasting historical significance. Preservation capacity is an important factor when determining whether an institution can responsibly acquire certain materials.
More broadly, this assignment reinforces the connection between selection, evaluation, and preservation. These principles do not operate independently within collection management. Decisions about acquiring materials must also consider how they will be stored, protected, and maintained over time. Through this project, I gained practical insight into how preservation knowledge supports informed decision-making within archives and museums.
Evidence 2
The second piece of evidence demonstrating my mastery of Competency F is my project titled “Strategies for Digital Media: Photographs,” completed in INFO 259: Preservation Management (Spring 2024). This assignment required the development of an organizational and preservation strategy for a small digital photograph collection.
Link: hhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1WfZael9o6xDL_K8wP-_VdDEp2DWCYcpn91k6AdI92Yk/edit?usp=sharing
Description of the Artifact
This project focused on the creation of a structured system for organizing and preserving a small collection of personal digital photographs. The assignment required locating photographs stored across several digital environments and developing a system that could bring these materials together in a coherent and sustainable structure. The photographs selected for the project were intentionally drawn from multiple sources, including social media platforms, cloud storage systems, and personal devices. This approach reflected the reality of modern digital collections which are often fragmented across many locations.
Once the photographs were gathered I began developing a directory structure that would allow the collection to grow while remaining logically organized. The primary folder separated photographs into personal and professional categories. This distinction created a foundation that could accommodate future photographs related to work, education, or other professional activities. Within the personal collection, additional folders organized photographs by decade. This chronological structure allowed the collection to reflect the passage of time while still supporting additional layers of organization.
The next stage of the project involved adding contextual information to the photographs themselves. Each file was renamed in a way that captured the central event or individuals present in the image. I also embed descriptive metadata within the file properties. These descriptions included brief explanations of the location, the people involved, and the approximate date the photographs were taken. This contextual information helps transform a simple image file into a documented memory with historical context.
Preservation considerations were also integrated into the project. The photographs were initially stored on my personal computer, but additional storage copies were created in order to protect against potential data loss. The collection was backed up to an external hard drive and uploaded to cloud storage. This redundancy ensures that the photographs remain accessible even if one storage location becomes unavailable.
Justification and Connection to the Competency
This artifact demonstrates my understanding of organization and digital preservation principles, both of which are central to Competency F. Digital collection requires deliberate organization, because the absence of physical structure can make materials difficult to locate and interpret. A clear directory system helps maintain intellectual control over digital files, while also supporting future expansion of the collection. Through this project I gained practical experience applying archival thinking to digital materials. The use of descriptive file names and embedded metadata reflects professional practices used in digital repositories and archival databases. These descriptive elements provide context that allows users to understand the significance of digital objects even years after they were created.
The project also highlights the importance of digital preservation planning. Unlike physical objects, digital files depend on technological systems that are constantly evolving. As new technologies arise, files can become inaccessible as the old systems become obsolete. By creating redundant storage copies and maintaining organized file structures, I implemented strategies that help reduce the risk of data loss and technological obsolescence.
Selection was another important aspect of this project. Digital photography allows individuals to capture thousands of images, yet only some photographs hold lasting personal or historical significance. In developing this collection, I chose photographs that documented meaningful relationships and important life events. These decisions reflect the appraisal processes used by archivists when determining which materials should become part of a permanent collection.
This assignment also reinforced the broader significance of personal digital archiving. Personal photograph collections often serve as important historical records that document everyday experiences and family histories. By applying professional organizational and preservation strategy to my own photographs, I gained insight into how information professionals can support individuals in protecting their personal histories. The project demonstrates how the principles of selection, organization, and preservation apply not only to institutional collections, but also to the digital materials individuals create and maintain throughout their lives.
Evidence 3
The third piece of evidence demonstrating my mastery of Competency F is the “Digital Collection Finding Aid: Film Chest Vintage Cartoons,” completed in INFO 256: Archives and Manuscripts (Fall 2024). This assignment required the creation of a structured finding aid for a digital collection of early animated films hosted on the Internet Archive.
Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BdtpTw-z3rqNuG2XCgTbg5ZhjLRMR0HuAdarhLe-gpc/edit?usp=sharing
Description of the Artifact
This assignment was completed as a group project. Within the group, I served as the editor of the document, and was responsible for developing the Finding Aid Arrangement and the Content Listing sections of the final product. My role required translating the structure of the digital collection into a clear archival hierarchy that would allow researchers to understand how the materials were organized, and how individual items related to one another within the larger collection.
The collection itself consists of a group of digitized animated films produced between the 1930s and 1950s. These films were digitized and made available through the Internet Archive by Film Chest Media Group, a company that specializes in restoring and distributing vintage film materials. Although the digital files were already accessible through the repository, the assignment required our team to create a finding aid that would provide clear intellectual organization and contextual information for researchers interested in early animation.
Primary responsibility was designing the hierarchical structure of the finding aid. In archival description, hierarchy is essential as it reflects the relationship between materials within a collection. I organized the collection beginning with the repository level and then moving through the record group, fonds, series, subseries, file, and item levels. This structure allowed the collection to move from a broad overview to increasingly specific levels of description. The arrangement reflects the way archivists provide intellectual control over large collections of materials.
In addition to developing the hierarchical arrangement, I created the content listing that details the individual films contained within each series. This portion of the finding aid required carefully examining the existing digital records and determining how they should be grouped. Many of the films were associated with particular characters, studios, or directors. The structure I created reflects these relationships. For example, several films featuring the character Betty Boop were produced by Max and Dave Fleischer, so these works were grouped together within a series dedicated to that character and creative team. Within that series, the films were further organized chronologically by year, which allows users to see how the character developed across the early 1930s. By structuring the content listing in this way the finding aid helps researchers understand how individual films relate to one another and how they fit within the broader developments in early animation history.
As editor of the project, I was also responsible for viewing the entire document for clarity, consistency, and accuracy. Editing required ensuring that terminology remained consistent throughout the finding aid, and that the descriptive language aligned with archival standards. This role helped ensure that the final document functioned as a cohesive descriptive tool rather than a collection of separate sections written by different contributors.
Justification and Connection to the Competency
This artifact demonstrates my understanding of organization and evaluation principles, which are essential to components of Competency F. Archival collections often contain large quantities of materials, and without structured descriptive systems those materials can become difficult for researchers to navigate. The hierarchical arrangement I developed provides a framework that allows users to understand the relationships between the repository, the collection, and individual items within it.
Developing the finding aid arrangement required careful evaluation of how the materials were originally created and organized. Archival theory emphasizes the importance of maintaining the context in which records were produced. Cook (1997) explains that archival description “will concentrate less on physical record entities and media, and develop instead enriched ‘value-added’ contextual understandings of the information systems and multiple institutions/persons that create records,”. By structuring the collection according to archival hierarchy, I ensured the organization of the finding aid reflected the intellectual structure of the collection itself.
The creation of the content listing also reflects principles of selection and organization. Even though the films already existed within the digital repository, determining how they should be grouped required analytical decisions. Organizing the films by character series and director provided a logical structure that aligns with the way researchers often study animation history. This approach supports discovery by allowing users to navigate the collection through meaningful contextual groupings.
Another important aspect of this project involved improving access to digital materials. Digitization alone does not guarantee that materials will be easily discoverable. Without clear descriptive tools, digital collections can become difficult to interpret and navigate. The finding aid provides contextual information that allows researchers to understand the scope of the collection and identify individual items of interest.
This project strengthened my understanding of how organization supports both preservation and access. Digital collections must be structured in ways that maintain their contextual relationships while also making them usable for researchers. Through my work developing the hierarchical arrangement and content listing, I applied archival descriptive principles that support the long-term stewardship of digital collections.
Conclusion
The work represented in these artifacts demonstrates how the principles of selection, evaluation, organization, and preservation guide responsible collection stewardship. Through my research on silk textiles, I developed a deeper understanding of how preservation knowledge informs decisions about acquiring and maintaining fragile analog materials. My digital photograph preservation project allowed me to apply organizational and preservation strategies to born-digital materials while reflecting on the importance of protecting personal histories from loss. The archival finding aid project further strengthened my ability to organize complex digital collections, and apply archival descriptive principles that support access and contextual understanding. Together, these projects illustrate how Competency F extends across both physical and digital information environments. They also demonstrate how thoughtful collection management practices help ensure that materials remain accessible and meaningful for future users.
In my future career, I expect to apply this competency in archival and cultural heritage settings that manage media collections. Understanding how to evaluate materials, organize collections, and develop preservation strategies will be essential when working with audio-visual records, historical documents, and digital assets. As information environments continue to evolve, information professionals must also remain engaged with emerging preservation practices and professional standards. To remain current, I will continue to consult professional literature and guidance from organizations such as the Society of American Archivists and the American Institute for Conservation, which provide resources on archival practice, conservation methods, and digital preservation strategies. Maintaining awareness of professional standards and research will allow me to continue developing my expertise while supporting the long-term stewardship of cultural heritage collections.
References
Buckland, M. K. (1991). Information as thing. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42(5), 351–360. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-4571(199106)42:5%3C351::aid-asi5%3E3.0.co;2-3
Cook, T. (1997). What is past is prologue: A history of archival ideas since 1898, and the future paradigm shift. Archivaria, 43, 17–63. https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/12175
Hedstrom, M. (1998). Digital preservation: A time bomb for digital libraries. Computers and the Humanities, 31(3), 189–202. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1000676723815
Schellenberg, T. R. (1956). Modern archives: Principles and techniques. University of Chicago Press.
Smith, A. (1999). Preservation in the digital age. Council on Library and Information Resources. https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub91/
