How to Create Author Collections in Logos

Have that one author (or a few) that you circle back to time and time again?

My bookshelf has a heavy stack of paper copies reserved just for their wisdom. However, finding specific information from each author—the paragraph I want to pull for something I’m writing or their view on a particular topic—is time-consuming in my hard copies.

But a powerful, easy-to-use tool in Logos allows me to group all the digital resources by one author that I own together, making finding specific information they’ve written about a breeze: Collections.

Collections in Logos are individually created, customizable groups of resources that can be organized by author or any other subset you create (you can group your collections by commentaries, a book of the Bible—or even by topic, like eschatology) and then accessed and searched in several places within Logos.

How to create author collections in Logos

Collections are easy to create—simply click Tools > Library > Collections, and a dialog to create a new Unnamed Collection will open:
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Give your new collection a unique name, like “Books by John Piper” (Yep! The John Piper collection is included in the Cyber Monday Sale! Keep reading to learn about it). You can easily open other collections you’ve already created by clicking the “Open” dropdown, scrolling down the list, and selecting the one you want.

Next, set up a rule in the rule box: type:monograph AND author:piper.

This will display all resources authored by John Piper. You can easily add resources into an author collection by dragging them into the + Plus these resources area or remove resources from a collection by dropping them into the – Minus these resources area. Any time you purchase another John Piper book, it will automatically be added:

Your collection is now ready to be used and appears in the collection dropdown when you click “Open.”

See how easy it is to organize your books by collections in Logos:

Why create collections?

There’s a few pretty cool benefits to organizing your resources by author (or other subsets):

1. You can focus your study according to what one person says on a particular topic—or on one particular topic. For example, you can search for everything John Piper has to say on providence by searching for the word “providence” in a basic search and selecting the John Piper collection from the all resources dropdown. (If you had a Collection of books on the topic of providence, you could search what other authors say about it.)

2. You can print/export the collection formatted as a bibliography.
3. You can create a bibliography for all those resources in the citation style of your choice.

Here are just a few Logos author collections to get you started.

The N. T. Wright Collection (51 vols.)

The N. T. Wright Collection combines 52 of New Testament scholar and prolific author N. T. Wright’s beloved works to offer a collection rich in theological depth, engaging in tone, and compelling in biblical wisdom. style=”border: 2px solid #eaeaea;”

Get the N. T. Wright Collection (51 vols.).

The Life, Thought, and Works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (32 vols.)

This curation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer resources includes the complete English translation of the Critical Edition of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, the widely acclaimed series translated from the German editions of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke. But it also offers secondary works, including biography and analysis of his life and teachings (God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas, The Cost of Moral Leadership, and Bonhoeffer: A Guide for the Perplexed, and others).

Get The Life, Thought, and Works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (32 vols.).

B. B. Warfield Collection (20 vols.)

B. B. Warfield ranks among America’s greatest theologians and Reformed theology’s most ardent defenders. This 20-volume B. B. Warfield Collection includes his works on biblical inspiration and authority, textual criticism, Calvinism, biblical theology, and Christian perfectionism. It includes the entire 10-volume Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, published in the decade following his death—plus 10 additional volumes that contain more books, articles, and lectures not found in the original 10 volumes.

Get the B. B. Warfield Collection (20 vols.)

Select Life and Works of George MacDonald (25 vols.)

George MacDonald significantly influenced some of the most famous authors who have ever lived, including Lewis Carroll, J. R. R. Tolkien, Madeleine L’Engle, G. K. Chesterton, and C. S. Lewis. This 25-volume Select Life and Works of George MacDonald collection will get you stocked with resources from every genre MacDonald contributed to, including some of his most famous sermon collections, fantasy novels, poetry, and short stories.

Get Select Life and Works of George MacDonald (25 vols.).

More Works of Jonathan Edwards, Yale Edition (15 vols.)

The Yale University Press edition of The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Yale Edition (26 vols.) is the authoritative collection of the great theologian’s published and better-known works. In it, you’ll have more than 7,000 pages of rare notes, drafts, and discourses, hundreds of sermons, and the kind of Edwards ephemera that provides insight into his life and teachings.

Get More Works of Jonathan Edwards (15 vols.).

John Piper Christian Life and Ministry Collection (10 vols.)

John Piper is a widely respected theologian, bestselling author, and founder of Desiring God Ministries. This collection includes 10 practical John Piper books for Christian life and ministry, including Pierced by the Word and the third edition of his classic work, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.

Get the John Piper Christian Life and Ministry Collection.