Today’s guest blogger, Mark Van Dyke, is the newest member of the Logos marketing department.
In addition to saving shelf space and being easy to replace, electronic books also lower moving costs, an important incentive considering Logos software is used by missionaries around the world. Considering the large number of resources in Logos’ higher end libraries (Scholar’s Library, Scholar’s Library: Silver and Scholar’s Library: Gold) the amount of money that is saved during a move to another continent more than pays for the software itself.

For example, when a missionary family of four moves to Nigeria the cost of shipping their baggage alone is approximately $1,300! *

If a missionary owned the corresponding print versions of Logos book collections the substantial cost of moving would increase even more. Below is a listing of the cost of airmailing the print versions of three libraries from the United States to Papua New Guinea. The weights of each respective collection are shown in parentheses.

• Scholar’s Library (936 lbs.) – $3,125.50
  
• Scholar’s Library: Silver (1,073 lbs.) – $4,921.00
  
• Scholar’s Library: Gold (1,450 lbs.) – $6,650.00

When shipping from the United States to Mongolia, Chad, Estonia or Jordan the average cost of sending print versions of Scholar’s: Gold resources averages just under $5,000!

If the financial burden were not enough one should also consider the hours of back-breaking labor required in packing and unpacking the hundreds of books in each collection. We at Logos recommend the method of buying the books on one DVD and throwing the disc in your carry-on luggage.

* Figure provided by Serving in Mission

If you’ve been a Logos customer for very long, you’ve probably noticed that something has changed during the month of June. We used to post three or four new prepub titles per month, on average…this month we’ve already posted 11…with 4 new titles posted last week alone!

With some 2,000 books as part of the Continuum license, plus all the other contracts and books we have in the pipeline, we’ve had to ratchet things up a notch. A new guy in the marketing department, Zack Rock, is doing a great job of researching the books and crafting descriptions for the prepub page. He’s been cranking them out at a pace of 1-2 titles per day…so if you’ve fallen behind, here’s a quick update:

What’s New on the Prepub Page

Bible Study Helps

• The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English VersionsBruce Metzger provides a fascinating account of the history of Bible translation, along with a user-friendly guide to 50 different versions of the Bible.
  
• Introducing The Apocrypha: Message, Context, And SignificanceRegardless of your stand on the canonicity of the apocryphal books, this volume establishes the value of studying the Apocrypha and acquaints the reader with the texts and tools necessary to undertake that study.
  
• D. A. Carson CollectionSome top titles from Carson, including two excellent aids for building and responsibly using your digital library: Exegetical Fallacies and New Testament Commentary Survey.
  
• On Romans and Other New Testament Essays (Cranfield)Clear and penetrating insights on this complex biblical book from one of its foremost scholars and commentators.

Books for Educators & Counselors

• Christian Educator’s Collection (3 Volumes)Combines theory with nuts and bolts techniques for Christ-centered education, ideal for the Christian teacher or homeschooling family.
  
• Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology and Counseling, Second EditionPastors today serve double duty as counselors; this handbook is a must-have for anyone engaged in counseling another person toward spiritual and psychological wholeness.

Greek Resources

• Introduction to Biblical Greek CollectionLearn Greek from the alphabet on up at the feet of seasoned teacher James Swetnam, and get a grasp of applied Greek grammar, illustrated with actual examples from the NT provided by Maximillian Zerwick.
  
• A Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament (“Max & Mary”)Benefit from brief, verse-by-verse exegetical hints and notes supplied by experienced exegetes.
  
• Moulton-Howard-Turner Greek Grammar Collection (5 volumes)This intermediate to advanced Greek reference grammar is suited for the second-year student or as a reference at any level.
• Idioms of the Greek New Testament, Second EditionA landmark grammar/textbook that applies the insights of modern linguistics to the study of biblical Greek.
  
• The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Moulton & Milligan)One of the most important books to come out of the study of the Egyptian Papyri is this lexicon by Moulton and Milligan, which provides examples of how ordinary people used ancient Greek in ordinary contexts.

Shipping Soon
This is your last chance to get a prepublication discount on the following titles. Once they ship, the price will go up so place your pre-order right away.

• International Theological Commentary (27 vols)This commentary emphasizes the theology of the Old Testament, combining excellence in scholarship with relevant insight for today’s church. The Last Chance email already went out; we should be getting this back from replication soon, and will ship shortly after the Independence Day holiday.
  
• Ryrie’s Basic Theology
  A clear and understandable systematic theology from a major figure in evangelicalism. Yes, this is the same guy who edited the widely-used Ryrie Study Bible. This title went through production very quickly. First posted to the prepub page May 25, it is due to ship around July 10.

Whew! That’s a lot and it’s just the new stuff…visit the prepub page to see a complete listing of what’s available at a prepub discount and take advantage of the opportunity to expand your library while saving some dough!

More Ways to Stay Abreast of the Juggernaut

• NewsWire – email newsletter with the latest prepubs, sales, and more!
  
• Prepub RSS Feed – keep up with the latest prepubs right in your feed reader, My Yahoo! homepage, Bloglines, etc.