Guide to Organizing Digital Files

For any type of organization: Consider organizing records by year and then by type. We generally prefer minimal foldering levels. For example:

Annual Records 2022 (top-level folder)

Subfolders:

• Events
  • Photographs
  • Promotional materials
  • Planning
•  Advocacy
• Meetings
  • Board meetings
  • Member meetings
• Grants
  • [funder name]
  • [funder name]
  • [funder name]

Create an organization schema or folder titling system that is easy for potential researchers to understand. For instance, if you have a top-level folder that is a year and a subfolder titled "St. Mary's," many researchers may not understand what type of information the folder contains; is it an architectural plan, meeting minutes, photographs, or other type of material?

When creating a foldering and organization plan, consider that your organization may donate files in the future and it may be useful and time-saving to adhere to the foldering schema you have created for your donation. 

Consider organizing records by year and then by type. We generally prefer minimal foldering levels. For personal papers, a foldering organization might look like this:

2022 (top-level folder)

Subfolders:

• Correspondence
• Photographs
• Notes and Lists

For research or professional files, a foldering level might look like this:

Project Name (Top level folder)

Subfolders:

• Research notes
• Correspondence
• Articles
• Interviews