This document library is private and can only be accessed by you. It is the same in principle as a user's home directory on a file server, and can be used to store documents that you do not want to share with anyone else.

It is not uncommon for users to be reluctant to save incomplete files on a SharePoint site and prefer to save the file to their desktop. This is understandable, but there is no version control or selective feedback from team members through a workflow. By using the personal documents library, the benefits of SharePoint are available where the content is restricted to you. Saving important documents to your desktop is not advised because content is not backed up on a daily basis.

Because you have designer permissions to your My Site, you have the ability to create lists and libraries, which may be restricted on other SharePoint sites.

To view another user's My Site, click on the Modified By column in a view of a list or library, or use SharePoint's search functionality.

This document library is intended to be shared with other SharePoint users that access your personal site. Everyone in the organization can read and copy content, but they cannot update content that is stored in this library.

My Sites should not be used as a permanent repository for team collaboration content because your My Site can grow into a mini website. It is designed for personal end user use rather than a fully functional team site. If end users beg to store a lot of content here, the content managers should consider moving it to an appropriate site.

Also, if an employee leaves the company, the user account may be deleted along with their My Site and its content.

This library can be utilized as a photo album: a place to store and share pictures with other SharePoint users that access your personal site.

Additional libraries available in your personal site include Customized Reports, Form Templates, and the Style Library. The Customized Reports library is meant to act as a repository for web analytics. The Form Templates library is meant to host form templates that would be made administratively available to you, based on organizational need. The purpose of the Style Library is to host style sheets and other files associated with branding and customization of My Sites. These libraries are used less frequently and an in-depth examination of each is outside the scope of this book.