  We present a detailed study of the stars of the IRTF spectral library to
understand its full extent and reliability for use with Stellar Population (SP)
modeling. The library consist of 210 stars, with a total of 292 spectra,
covering the wavelength range of 0.94 to 2.41 micron at a resolution R = 2000.
For every star we infer the effective temperature (Teff), gravity (logg) and
metallicity ([Z/Zsun]) using a full-spectrum fitting approach in a section of
the K band (2.19 to 2.34 micron) and temperature-NIR colour relations. We test
the flux calibration of these stars by calculating their integrated colours and
comparing them with the Pickles library colour-temperature relations. We also
investigate the NIR colours as a function of the calculated effective
temperature and compared them in colour-colour diagrams with the Pickles
library. This latter test shows a good broad-band flux calibration, important
for the SP models. Finally, we measure the resolution R as a function of
wavelength. We find that the resolution increases as a function of lambda from
about 6 angstrom in J to 10 angstrom in the red part of the K-band. With these
tests we establish that the IRTF library, the largest currently available
general library of stars at intermediate resolution in the NIR, is an excellent
candidate to be used in stellar population models. We present these models in
the next paper of this series.
