Of the Making of Books (Part 6)

| Tue, January 17, 2006 | Misc.

Today’s guest blogger is Ken Smith, General Manager of Electronic Publishing Services at Logos.

(This is the next installment in a series of articles about our nearly 60 publishing partners who market their own electronic products using our technology.)

Standard Publishing
One of the most rewarding aspects of our work at Logos is when we see our technology helping people to be more consistent and fruitful in their daily study of the Bible. When we partner with a publisher who values this as much as we do, great things can happen. Such is the case with Standard Publishing.

Beginning in the fall of 2001, Standard began issuing an electronic edition of their annual Standard Lesson Commentary using our technology. As you can see from the cover, the CD-ROM was considered a “bonus” and I’m sure both companies wondered just how many of the loyal purchasers of the print edition would actually use the CD-ROM.

SLC0102

In those days, we didn’t really have any way to track that statistic, but Standard seemed pleased enough with the reaction to continue the following year. Because the 2002–2003 edition was based on the Libronix Digital Library System, we were able to gather some information about the number of people who made the effort to take the CD out of the back of the book, load it onto their computer and complete the activation process.

Were we ever surprised. Thousands of people activated the software and gladly embraced the electronic format. The following year, the numbers were nearly identical.

SLC0203 SLC0304

For the 2004–2005 edition, Standard took a big step and decided to launch an electronic-only product. The product was named The Standard Lesson eCommentary and included a small library of reference books as well.

If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to be more consistent in your daily Bible study, it’s not too late to pick up the 2005–2006 Standard Lesson eCommentary and get started. And don’t worry. Planning for the 2006–2007 edition has already begun!

Next: Liturgical Press

Camp Logos Cruise

| Mon, January 16, 2006 | Misc.

Avast, ye scurvy dogs, are ye ready to set sail fer Alaska with “Cap’n Moe” and the Camp Logos crew?

OK, I don’t think it’s going to be a pirate themed event. But still, what could be better than hanging out with other Logos aficionados aboard the Sun Princess while eating great food, seeing some seriously impressive sights, and sharpening your Bible software skills?

The 7-day cruise leaves from Seattle, Washington, on July 23, 2006, and follows the beautiful Inside Passage to Alaska with 5 ports of call along the way. You will see Victoria, Ketchikan, the Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, and Skagway.

You’ll also benefit from a number of focused training sessions with Morris Proctor, certified trainer for Logos Bible Software. Morris will lead group and individual sessions to take your Logos-assisted Bible study to the next level and ensure that you’re using the tool with optimal efficiency. And, of course, spending time with other users will be just plain fun.

Get the complete details and sign up for the cruise at the Morris Proctor Seminars website. The registration deadline is coming up soon, so don’t wait.

The Logos User Wiki

| Fri, January 13, 2006 | Misc.

Chances are you have seen or heard about Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. The idea behind the Wikipedia is to allow creation and editing of articles by just about anyone. The underlying technology is something called a wiki, which is a simplified content management system that allows anyone to provide or edit articles.

For awhile now, Logos has hosted a wiki for its users. Ours is a bit more simplified than the Wikipedia, but it does the trick. The Logos User Wiki is a place you can go to for tips and even some detailed processes on reinstalling the software, compose feature ideas that others can contribute to or flesh out, or just browse around for ideas on different ways to use Logos Bible Software.

Check it out, and feel free to add articles or tips that you think might help the Logos Bible Software user community! We even have a newsgroup dedicated to questions about the wiki. So give it a shot!

UPDATE: The Logos Wiki has moved to a new location as of 11/12/09.

Syntax: Glossaries of Terminology

| Thu, January 12, 2006 | Products, Training

I know, I know, I said I’d blog about searching the Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament. And I will. Really, I will. But not today.

I’ve been working on a different aspect of the Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament project recently: adding glossary information to just about everywhere a clause type or syntactic force note occurs. And wow, is it cool. Really.

Because syntactic terminology is at times confusing, and because different grammars and guides sometimes use the same terminology to describe different things and different terminology to describe similar things (got that?) we knew we’d need to include glossaries with our syntactic databases. And we also knew we’d need to provide links to further discussions of terms in standard grammar and syntactic references, so we’ve included (where appropriate) links to BDF, Daniel Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, and Smyth’s Greek Grammar (a classical grammar not yet in LDLS format … but give us time!).

[Read more…]

Commentaries Alone or in a Set?

| Wed, January 11, 2006 | Products

We received this comment from a blog reader back in December and I thought it deserved a little longer response than I could give it in the comments:

It would be helpful in this series of articles to explain the justification for making certain books available only as a part of the set (i.e., ICC commentaries) and not separately. Thanks for the great work you are doing! —Paul

Paul, that’s a fair question. Typically, you’ll see new commentaries made available first as a series and only later will they be broken up into individual volumes.

Often, this is due to licensing issues but it can also be the result of the way the prepub program works (we want to digitize the entire series, not just individual volumes). The deep prepub discount makes up for the fact that you may be getting volumes you wouldn’t buy otherwise.

A couple of years after publication, we often go back and split out the volumes for individual sale, if the contract allows. Many commentary sets are currently available as individual volumes, including Crossway Classic Commentary Series, College Press NIV Commentary Series, MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, and Word Biblical Commentary Series.

Of course, you’ll always save money by buying the whole series instead of acquiring it piece by piece. But if you’re focusing on a particular book of the Bible or want to own a volume that has garnered special acclaim, buying one volume at a time may be the way to go.

Of the Making of Books (Part 5)

| Tue, January 10, 2006 | Products

Today’s guest blogger is Ken Smith, General Manager of Electronic Publishing Services at Logos.
(This is the next installment in a series of articles about our nearly 60 publishing partners who market their own electronic products using our technology.)

Biblical Archaeology Society

From as far back as I can remember, customers were asking about making back issues of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) part of our electronic library offerings. We tried unsuccessfully for quite some time to license BAR from the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS), but to no avail. (I guess they knew they had a good thing and wanted to do it themselves!)

Since we couldn’t get BAR, we pursued other content from BAS, including a Biblical Archaeology Slide Set. That project never came to fruition and I think we’ve still got a box of several hundred slides gathering dust in our basement somewhere (which may be an interesting find for some 23rd century archaeologist).

After several years of discussion, BAS decided the time was right for them to enter the electronic publishing arena. In October of 2002, that same dust-gathering slide set was released as The Biblical World in Pictures CD-ROM, fully integrated into the Libronix Digital Library System.

BWP

Those customers who had been asking for BAR in Libronix format didn’t have to wait long. In March of 2003, BAS published the first edition of The Biblical Archaeology Review Archive, containing every issue of BAR from 1975 to 2001. It has since been updated to include all of 2002 and 2003 as well.

We’re happy to say that BAS has continued to expand their electronic offerings for the Libronix Digital Library System. In 2004, they released two additional collections of magazine back issues. The Archaeology Odyssey Archive and The Bible Review Archive make the BAS family of electronic products a compelling set.

If you have a particular author, book, magazine, or any other content you’d like to have as part of your electronic library, we want to know! Send an e-mail to suggest@logos.com. No guarantees, but we’ll certainly consider any and all of your suggestions.

Next: Standard Publishing

Logos Newsgroups Back Up

| Mon, January 9, 2006 | Misc.

The Logos Newsgroups are back up at news://news.logos.com/general. We are sorry for the inconvenience!

Why a Vast Electronic Library is a Good Thing

| Mon, January 9, 2006 | Misc.

Our customers need no convincing. A hard drive full of electronic reference books trumps a stack of dead trees, no question. But from time to time, I read comments from a reviewer or blogger who seems to doubt the utility or legitimacy of amassing a large electronic library.

Stories like the following testimonial from a pastor in Hong Kong, however, only confirm my deep belief in the soundness of our vision to digitize thousands upon thousands of Bible reference titles.
I’ll let the story speak for itself…

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am a Filipino pastor sent by God to Hong Kong to help minister to Filipino domestic helpers in this city. There are about 160,000 Filipinos in this city.

I preach and teach almost everyday except on Monday. The way the church is set up is quite different from other churches. We don’t schedule our church services. We open the church whenever the believers could come and met. If they are out on a Tuesday morning, then we have a church meeting on Tuesday morning. If it is Thursday evening, then the church meets on Thursday evening. Most of our church people have about 6 hrs each week for rest. They work 16-20 hours everyday. Some have just one day in a month for rest.

Ministering to this special group of people requires a lot of emotional and physical support. Our job includes fetching them frantically crying in the middle of the night, forced to leave their employer’s house when they are terminated. It could be midnight or 3 am.

Here’s where I get a lot of help from my Series X Libronix Library. I bought WBC the whole 58 volumes; Life Application; Handbook of the New Testament and other commentaries. They save me a lot of time when preparing sermons.

This is not to mention how much help I personally receive as I study passages to continue growing in the Lord.

And here’s the best part: Whenever I go to visit our church friends in the underground church, to teach the leaders, I get so much help from these commentaries. I have over 150 volumes of fantastic, scholarly, and helpful books in my computer. It’s like bringing a whole library with me.

Thank you Logos for offering such a gift to the Body of Christ. There’s no help like these books on CD-ROMs.

Sincerely,

[Name Withheld]

Community Pricing titles closing in!

| Fri, January 6, 2006 | Products

At the end of December, we put 10 new titles into our Community Pricing System. It’s fun to see which ones people latch on to and how fast (and how cheap they end up being)!

There are a few titles that are set to close today (Friday, January 6, 2006) at noon Pacific Time. Check ’em out to see if you want to get in on them at their cheapest:

History of Interpretation by F.W. Farrar just crossed the line yesterday and will move to prepublication next Friday.
There are some other titles that are getting close to the line:

Check out these (and all of the other titles we’re considering) and place a bid if you’d like us to do them.

Of the Making of Books (Part 4)

| Thu, January 5, 2006 | Misc.

Today’s guest blogger is Ken Smith, General Manager of Electronic Publishing Services at Logos.
(This is the next installment in a series of articles about our nearly 60 publishing partners who market their own electronic products using our technology.)
Galaxie Software

Back in 1999, Galaxie Software approached us about using our technology for a very interesting project. They had been electronically publishing back issues of a number of theological journals (Bibliotheca Sacra from Dallas Theological Seminary, Grace Theological Journal and several others) using a different technology platform. In May of 1999, they released Version 3 of their Theological Journal Library utilizing our technology. Version 3 contained a total of 150 years of various journals. By March of 2002, they were up to 250 years of journals in their Version 5 release.

Galaxie has continued to expand the list of included journals and now has 400 years of journals in their collections. The first 250 are still sold as a collection, now designated as Volumes 1-5. Subsequent additions have been released in 50-year collections and are sold separately as Volume 6, Volume 7 and Volume 8), which was just released in September of 2005.

The journals have proven to be one of the most appreciated additions to the Libronix DLS family. Beyond the spectacular savings in cost and space to have 400 years worth of journals at your fingertips, a large percentage of these back issues are only available in select seminary libraries, not readily accessible to most of our customers.

Galaxie has produced a number of other products using our technology, including Dan Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics.

Galaxie is also a partner with the Biblical Studies Foundation in producing electronic editions of the NET Bible.

Next: Biblical Archaeology Society