A Critical Analysis of Intrinsic Value

Intrinsic value was established in the early 1980s as a criterion of appraisal to identify those documents to be retained in their original form. Although perpetuated as an "objective" concept and a new appraisal standard for a particular class of documents, it becomes apparent through critical analysis that its application ascribes value to documents in much the same way as any other value in the traditional "taxonomy." What follows is an evaluation of the definition of intrinsic value, the criteria by which it is to be assigned, and its invocation in the appraisal process.