Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Unleashed

Differentiating Lists from Libraries

Although libraries are one of the most frequently used building blocks for SharePoint-based collaboration and information management systems, lists are the other. Libraries store files, while lists are designed to store rows of information, in much the same way as a spreadsheet stores rows of data defined by columns that are configured to support certain types of data, such as text, numbers, date and times, choices, and others.

When a user clicks the New Item link in a list, she is prompted to enter different types of information, such as text, currency value, time and date, selecting an item from a list of items, or perhaps entering in a user’s name. This information then gets saved as a row in the list and ...