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Libraries and Folders

TL;DR; A library is a top-level collection of reference content inside a department. Folders are subdivisions inside a library. Most departments have one or two libraries and a modest folder structure — deep nesting hurts findability.

Libraries and folders are how you impose structure on a department's Knowledge Base.

When to use multiple libraries

Most departments start with a single library and never need more than one. But there are cases where multiple libraries make sense:

  • Different audiences. If your department produces content for two very different groups (internal engineers and external customers, say), giving each audience its own library keeps the experience focused.
  • Different access levels. Some content is OK for everyone in the department; some is restricted. Putting them in different libraries makes visibility easier to manage. See Library Visibility.
  • Different topics at scale. A large compliance department might have one library for GDPR, one for SOX, one for internal HR policies. Each library stays focused and browsable.

If you can answer "what goes in this library?" in one short sentence, the library is well-scoped. If you can't, you probably need to split it.

Creating a library

From a department's page, open the Libraries or Knowledge Base section. Click Create Library. You'll get a form with:

  • Name — the display name learners will see.
  • Description — a short paragraph describing the library's purpose and audience.
  • Cover image — optional.
  • Initial visibility — usually defaults to the department; you can tighten it later.

Create Library form

Folder structure

Inside a library, you organize content using folders. Folders work the way folders in a file system do: you create one, name it, and put content inside.

A few rules of thumb:

  • Keep nesting shallow. Two levels is usually enough. Three is tolerable. Four or more is a sign that your library should be split into multiple libraries instead.
  • Name folders by topic, not by content type. "Onboarding" beats "Videos" as a folder name, because a learner looking for onboarding material doesn't care whether it's a video or a document.
  • Use folders for navigation, not for categorization. A content item lives in exactly one folder. If you're tempted to put the same file in multiple folders, that's usually a signal the folder structure is wrong.

Naming folders and content items

The names of your folders and content items matter more than almost anything else in the Knowledge Base. They're the first — and sometimes only — thing a learner sees when they're trying to find something.

Tips:

  • Start with what the content is about, not with boilerplate. "New Hire Checklist" beats "Onboarding Document v2 Final (2).pdf."
  • Be specific enough to disambiguate. If you have two similarly named items, clarify in the name itself rather than relying on folder context.
  • Avoid internal version numbers in the display name. "Handbook v3" is useful for the person who maintains it; "Employee Handbook" is useful for the person who wants to read it. If you need a version, put it in the description or use the update history.

Moving and reorganizing

You can move content items between folders and rename folders at any time. Reorganizing a library doesn't break anything for learners — the content is still there, just at a different path.

Do this when the library's use patterns change. If learners keep asking "where's the X?" and you keep pointing them at a specific folder, that's a signal the folder's name or location is wrong. Fix it.

Where to go next