About two years ago I posted a blog on AIIM titled “Are Folders Still Necessary?” Much to my surprise, the post generated a lot of discussion inspiring me to pursue the topic. I presented the topic twice at two separate conferences each time accompanied by lively, spirited discussion amongst the attendees.
Using folders seems like a paper-based, antiquated method for organizing and retrieving information. So why is it still so popular? Why do people defend using folders so passionately, shaking their heads at alternative folderless systems that are more efficient and sustainable?
What I’ve realized, through analyzing my own habits and from conversations with fellow professionals, is that people still rely on folders, and like them, for a few reasons.
- They’re easy to create and use. The folder, as a concept, is intuitive to understand.
- People, it seems, often rely on location as a primary way to find something once it’s been filed away. We may not always remember what a folder is called, but we can remember that it’s about halfway down the list of options, or that it lives in the lower RH corner of the desktop, for example.
- Folders offer a sense of security for many people. Once a document or object is safely filed away into the confines of a folder, we maintain the impression that it can be found again because it lives in a designated place. To some people, this also gives the impression that the document is unique because the title of the document becomes integrated with the folders under which it is filed.
Folders are reliable in a way that feels comfortable and familiar for people. Using metadata requires us to think about organizing, searching for, and retrieving information in a different way. Rather than relying on the secure and known location of a folder to find something, we must rely on new skills focused on filtering or searching.
Gmail, for example, doesn’t use folders. Instead all email is organized with labels offering users the option of either leaving everything in the inbox with one or more labels attached, or moving emails to “label folders”. Moving emails to “folders” is essentially filtering certain labels from displaying in the inbox.
Both times I presented I felt very passionate and secure to say, no, folders are not necessary. That was about 20 minutes before presenting. About 5 minutes before presenting when I would create an untitled desktop folder to clear away active docs and shortcuts I would think, YES, absolutely necessary. How else could I have cleaned everything up so quickly?
Most of the time, however, I often find myself arriving at a qualified yes. Yes folders are necessary, but not in the way we currently use them. I would prefer a system more like the one used by Gmail where folders are really filters based on metadata values. This type of system could appease both the die-hard folder advocates and those of use who wish to use a more robust, efficient, and sustainable way to manage records and information.
What are your thoughts?