Libraries App Overview
Give every employee a single place to find company resources—policies, forms, links, training materials, and more—organized in branded, permission-controlled library collections.
What is the Libraries App?
The Libraries App centralizes your organization’s scattered resources into curated collections that employees can browse and search from one location. Instead of hunting across SharePoint, Google Drive, bookmarks, and email threads, teams get a purpose-built hub where admins organize links, files, forms, surveys, wikis, and posts into categorized libraries with flexible view modes and granular access controls.
Core Value Proposition:
- 🎯 Eliminate Tool Sprawl — One hub for every resource employees need, from HR policies to brand assets
- 🔒 Granular Access Control — Target libraries to specific users, departments, groups, locations, job families, or platform roles
- 🤖 AI-Powered Discovery — Built-in AI agent helps employees find resources through natural language in Ask AI
- 📊 Flexible Organization — Multiple view modes (Grid, Large, Compact), drag-and-drop ordering, and per-category layouts
At a Glance
| ⏱️ Setup Time | 🔗 Content Types | 📱 Mobile Ready |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 8 item types | ✅ Yes |
Perfect For:
- 🏢 HR & Operations teams — centralizing policies, handbooks, and compliance documents
- 👥 IT departments — providing self-service access to guides, tools, and security policies
- 📈 Marketing & Sales teams — sharing brand assets, templates, and sales enablement resources
How It Works
Library Structure
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LIBRARIES APP │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ │ LIBRARY │ │ LIBRARY │ │ LIBRARY │ │
│ │ (Space) │ │ (Space) │ │ (Space) │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ ┌──────────┐ │ │ ┌──────────┐ │ │ ┌──────────┐ │ │
│ │ │ Category │ │ │ │ Category │ │ │ │ Category │ │ │
│ │ │ ┌──────┐ │ │ │ │ ┌──────┐ │ │ │ │ ┌──────┐ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Item │ │ │ │ │ │ Item │ │ │ │ │ │ Item │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Item │ │ │ │ │ │ Item │ │ │ │ │ │ Item │ │ │ │
│ │ │ └──────┘ │ │ │ │ └──────┘ │ │ │ │ └──────┘ │ │ │
│ │ └──────────┘ │ │ └──────────┘ │ │ └──────────┘ │ │
│ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ GLOBAL SEARCH │ │
│ │ Search across all libraries by title and description │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ AI AGENT (Ask AI) │ │
│ │ "Find the PTO policy" → search, browse, recommend │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Integration Ecosystem
┌─────────────────┐
│ LIBRARIES │
└────────┬────────┘
│
┌─────────────┬───────────────┼───────────────┬─────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ Forms │ │ Surveys │ │ Wikis │ │ Posts │ │ Ask AI │
└───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘
Libraries can link directly to platform content—Forms, Surveys, Wikis, and Posts—so items stay in sync with their source. The AI Agent integrates with Ask AI for natural-language resource discovery.
Key Features
🏛️ Library Spaces
Each library is a branded container for related resources. Admins create libraries with custom names, descriptions, icons (from a searchable icon picker), and colors.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Custom Branding | Name, description, icon (FontAwesome picker), and color swatch per library |
| Library Types | Mixed Content (files, forms, links, wikis, posts) or Images & Videos only |
| View Modes | Grid View (cards), Large View (title + description), Compact View (title only) |
| Drag-and-Drop Ordering | Admins reorder libraries on the main page; order persists for all users |
| Enable/Disable | Toggle libraries on or off without deleting them |
Use Case: Create a “Company Policies” library with an HR icon and blue branding, an “Employee Handbook” library in green, and a “Brand Assets” library configured for Images & Videos with Grid View.
📂 Categories
Within each library, content is organized into categories—collapsible sections that group related items.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Per-Category Layout | Each category can use Compact, Large, or Grid layout independently |
| Sort Order | Admin Defined (manual), A to Z, or Z to A |
| Category Icons | Optional FontAwesome icon per category |
| Inline Management | Edit and delete categories from dropdown menus directly on the library page |
📄 Library Items
Items are the individual resources within a category. The app supports 8 item types that cover virtually any content an organization needs to share.
| Item Type | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Link | 🔗 | External URL (opens in new tab or current tab) |
| File | 📄 | Linked file from the platform |
| Form | 📋 | Platform form (auto-inherits title from FormTemplate) |
| Survey | 📊 | Platform survey (auto-inherits title from Survey) |
| Wiki | 📖 | Platform wiki page |
| Post | 📰 | Platform post |
| Image | 🖼️ | Image resource (for Images & Videos libraries) |
| Video | 🎬 | Video resource (for Images & Videos libraries) |
Key behaviors:
- Forms and Surveys auto-inherit their title and description from the linked record when the title field is left blank
- Items linked to platform content show a “Source unavailable” badge if the source record is deleted, or an “Inactive” badge if the source is unpublished
- Business scoping validation ensures linked records belong to the same business
🔒 Permissions & Audience Targeting
Libraries support a two-axis permission model: visibility (who can see it) and management (who can edit it).
Visibility Options:
| Setting | Who Can See |
|---|---|
| All Users | Every user in the business |
| Specific Audiences | Targeted by user, department, group, location, job family, job title, organizational role, or platform role |
Management Levels:
| Setting | Who Can Add/Edit/Delete Items |
|---|---|
| Any Network User | Anyone who can see the library |
| Admins & Specific Users | Admins plus users designated as contributors or managers |
| Admins Only | Domain and intranet admins only |
| Domain Admins Only | Domain-level administrators only |
The audience picker supports granular targeting—you can combine multiple rules to reach exactly the right audience. For example, target a library to the Engineering department at the San Francisco location with the “Senior Engineer” job title.
🔍 Global Search
The dedicated search page (/apps/libraries/search) provides cross-library search by item title and description with paginated results. Each result shows:
- Item title (clickable link for Simple Link items)
- Breadcrumb trail: Library name → Category name
- Item description (truncated to 200 characters)
- Item type badge (Link, File, Form, Survey, etc.)
Libraries can also be included in the platform’s global search when the “Include Libraries in Global Search” setting is enabled.
🤖 AI Agent (Ask AI Integration)
The Libraries AI Agent lets users interact with library content through natural language in Ask AI.
Employee Capabilities:
- Search across all accessible libraries for resources
- Browse specific libraries and their categories
- Get resource recommendations based on use case descriptions
- View detailed item information including links
Admin Capabilities (in addition to above):
- Create new library items via AI
- Update existing item titles, URLs, and descriptions
- Delete library items
- Create new categories within libraries
Example Questions:
- “Find the PTO policy”
- “What libraries are available?”
- “Show me the HR Policies library”
- “Where can I find the brand guidelines?”
The agent respects library visibility rules—users only see results from libraries they have access to.
⚙️ Admin Settings
Administrators configure the Libraries app from a centralized settings page with the following sections:
General:
- Default Library View — Modern View (card grid) or Classic View (tree-based panel)
- Default Permission for New Libraries — Any Network User, Admins & specific users, Admins only, or Domain Admins only
AI & Search:
- Enable Libraries AI Agent — Toggle the Ask AI integration
- Include Libraries in Global Search — Include library items in platform-wide search results
Governance:
- Enable Auto-Governance — Schedule periodic reviews for library content freshness
- Default Review Interval — 7 to 365 days between governance review cycles
Notifications:
- Notify Users When New Items Are Added — In-app and email notifications for new items
- Send Governance Review Reminders — Reminders to library managers when reviews are due
Widgets:
- Enable Library Homepage Widget — Show a Libraries widget on users’ home dashboard
Sample Data:
- Load Sample Data — Pre-built libraries (Company Policies, Brand Assets, Employee Handbook, Training Materials) with categories and items for exploring the app
- Remove Sample Data — Clean up sample content when done
Quick Stats sidebar shows Total Libraries and Total Items counts.
📊 Dashboard Statistics (Admin View)
The main Libraries page shows admin-only summary cards:
| Stat | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Libraries | Count of all libraries in the business |
| Total Items | Sum of all items across all libraries |
User Roles & Permissions
| Role | Capabilities |
|---|---|
| Employee | Browse accessible libraries, search items, use AI agent to find resources |
| Contributor | Everything employees can do, plus add/edit/delete items in libraries where they have contributor access |
| Library Manager | Everything contributors can do, plus manage categories, edit library settings, and delete the library |
| Admin / Super Admin | Full access: create/edit/delete libraries, manage all categories and items, access Settings page, load/remove sample data, reorder libraries, configure app settings |
How We Compare
See how MangoApps Workforce Libraries stacks up against leading enterprise solutions:
| Feature | MangoApps Workforce | SharePoint Libraries | Confluence | Guru |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curated Resource Collections | ✅ | ✅ | ⚡ Limited | ❌ |
| 8 Content Types (links, forms, surveys, wikis, posts, files, images, video) | ✅ | ⚡ Files only | ⚡ Pages only | ⚡ Cards only |
| Granular Audience Targeting (dept, location, job family, role) | ✅ | ✅ | ⚡ Limited | ❌ |
| Multiple View Modes (Grid, Large, Compact) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Built-in AI Agent for Natural Language Search | ✅ | 💰 Copilot | 💰 Rovo | 💰 |
| Auto-Governance & Review Cycles | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Drag-and-Drop Ordering | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Integrated with Forms, Surveys, Wikis | ✅ | ⚡ Separate apps | ⚡ Pages only | ❌ |
| Sample Data for Quick Onboarding | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Legend: ✅ Included | ❌ Not Available | 💰 Paid Add-on | ⚡ Limited |
Why MangoApps Workforce?
- 🔗 Unified Platform — Libraries link directly to Forms, Surveys, Wikis, and Posts without leaving the platform
- 💰 No Hidden Costs — AI agent, governance, audience targeting, and all view modes included at no extra charge
- 🤖 AI-Native — Built-in AI agent for natural language resource discovery, not a bolt-on add-on
Getting Started
For Employees
- Navigate to Libraries from the left sidebar (or go to
/apps/libraries) - Browse the library cards on the main page
- Click a library to see its categories and items
- Use the Search tab to find resources across all libraries
- Ask AI: “Find the PTO policy” for natural language discovery
For Admins
- Navigate to Libraries and click “New Library” to create your first library
- Set the library name, description, icon, color, type, and view mode
- Configure visibility (All Users or Specific Audiences) and management level
- Inside the library, click “Add Category” to create content sections
- Click “Add Item” to add links, forms, surveys, and other resources
- Visit Settings to configure AI agent, governance, notifications, and global search
Quick Start with Sample Data
- Go to Settings → Sample Data section
- Click “Load Sample Data” to create 4 pre-built libraries with categories and items
- Explore the sample libraries to understand the structure
- Click “Remove Sample Data” when ready to build your own
Best Practices
- ✅ Organize by audience — Create separate libraries for HR, IT, Marketing, and other departments rather than one giant library
- ✅ Use audience targeting — Restrict sensitive libraries (e.g., executive compensation) to specific groups or roles
- ✅ Enable governance — Turn on auto-governance with 90-day review cycles to keep links and resources current
- ✅ Link platform content — Use Form and Survey item types to link directly to platform records instead of pasting URLs
- ✅ Choose the right view mode — Use Grid for visual content (brand assets), Large for resources that need descriptions, and Compact for simple link lists
- ✅ Enable the AI agent — Let employees find resources through natural language in Ask AI
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I control who can see a specific library?
A: When creating or editing a library, set Visibility to “Specific Audiences” and add rules targeting users, departments, groups, locations, job families, job titles, organizational roles, or platform roles. Admins always have access regardless of visibility settings.
Q: Can non-admin users add items to a library?
A: Yes. Set the library’s management level to “Any Network User” (anyone can contribute) or “Admins & Specific Users” (designate specific users as contributors or managers). The “Admins Only” and “Domain Admins Only” levels restrict editing to administrators.
Q: What happens if a linked form or survey is deleted?
A: The library item remains but displays a “Source unavailable” badge. If the linked form or survey is unpublished (not deleted), it shows an “Inactive” badge instead. The item can still be edited or removed by a library manager.
Q: Can I try the app without creating real content?
A: Yes. Go to Settings and click “Load Sample Data” to create 4 pre-built libraries (Company Policies, Brand Assets, Employee Handbook, Training Materials) with categories and 18 sample items. Remove them anytime with “Remove Sample Data.”
Related Resources
- Apps & Extensions Overview — Browse all available marketplace apps
- Policy Hub — HR policies with acknowledgment tracking and compliance
- SOP Hub — Standard operating procedures with completion tracking
- Workforce Bots — AI Q&A bots powered by your documents
- Forms — AI-powered data collection and workflows
Centralize your company’s knowledge. Empower every employee to find what they need.
