We are building a new SharePoint 2007 web site to replace our intranet website for the company I work for, and a common debate keeps coming up. Specifically, should we be using multiple document libraries (ex. 1 for each department), or one document library with multiple folders within (ex. 1 library with 1 folder for each department).
I know the benefits of using one document library and using custom views to organize the documents by utilizing custom columns (like department, purpose, location, etc).
Also, authorization can be set at either the document library or the folder level, so that does not seem to benefit either choice.
It would also seem that a single document could appear in multiple views in the same document library, but the document would have to be copied to other document libraries if that strategy is used.
The current plan is to use one document library for all organization documents, and then put a bunch of folders within, that symbolize the organization's structure. This would make it easy for a user to upload a document to their own organizational folder (with privileges assigned to that folder before hand). Then, when adding the document, they would choose custom column fields to identify the document and "tag" it, that will enable the custom views to filter the document into multiple views (like departmental, purpose, etc).
I don't think views are applicable for linking multiple document libraries to show their contents.
Anyway, the main question is: Is there any benefit of using multiple document libraries vs. 1 document library with multiple folders?
Here is a diagram, explaining what I want to do:
Thanks!