LogosTalk

If you evaluate the value of Logos resources and the value of print books by the same standards, you’re bound to miss some of what makes Logos resources special.

To understand what you get when you add a book to your Logos library, you have to understand both how they differ from print books and how they integrate with your software’s tools.

Logos resources are more than just books

When you get new Logos resources, you get more than just texts to read. You can’t just think of Logos resources the same way as their traditional print counterparts, meant to be referred to occasionally or read from cover to cover. You also have to think of them as information and data sources.

A lot of people resist the idea of growing their library and fall into a trap of thinking, “I already have more books than I’ll ever be able to read.”

But remember—Logos resources aren’t the same as print books.

In the traditional sense, a book only provides value when you take it off the shelf and manually approach it—whether to read it from start to finish, or to look up a particular chapter or section you’re familiar with.

You can do all of that with a Logos resource; it’s easy to open a book and read it on your screen or jump to a specific section (just like you do with your print books!)—but that’s only a small part of its value. The value is found in specialized tagging and corresponding tools built around content in the Logos format.

Logos will expose content in the midst of your study—content that would’ve otherwise been left on your bookshelf. You don’t have to know what every book in your library contains: we’ll do that heavy lifting for you and present you with the most relevant information.

Here are a couple reasons why you’ll benefit from a bigger library:

• You’ll get more out of Logos 6’s tools when they have an information source to pull from. Think of your Logos library as a giant database: the larger this source, the better your tools will perform. Your searches will be more comprehensive, your guides will contain more content, and you’ll have more primary and secondary sources to draw from in your research. Even if you never spend focused time studying new resources, they’ll help you from behind the scenes, powering your favorite tools.
• Adding new books will increase the value of the resources you already own. You might think your library is completely sufficient for your study, and maybe that’s true. Maybe you won’t ever need to read or study more books. But what if your favorite books were even more valuable? That’s the power that comes from increasing the size of your library: when you add more resources, you’ll get more out of your existing resources. By linking your resources together, you’ll get additional relevant background information and link new pieces of information that you would’ve missed before.

Here’s how it works with sermons

Let’s say you have a library filled with sermons, like the Preaching and Sermons Bundle. You can treat your library just like you would a traditional library, selecting a sermon and reading through it—and that’s fine! But if you do that, you’ll miss out on what makes sermons in the Logos format so useful.

The sermons in your library have special tagging that labels them by criteria like title, preacher, passage, and content. This tagging powers the Sermon Starter Guide found in Logos 5 and 6; your tools pull from it to expose content.

This tool allows you to effectively use a large library. You don’t have to maintain an intimate knowledge of every sermon in your library or spend hours searching for the right information: the Sermon Starter Guide will help you get at what you need to know without a time-intensive search. Whether you’re a pastor looking to see how others have approached a topic, or you’d just like to hear sermons on a specific biblical passage, you’ll quickly have all of your library’s relevant information right in front of you.

All of a sudden, the special markup and tooling found in the Logos format give you a lot more from your collection of sermons than just the ability to open and read them one by one.

In a traditional library, your works aren’t helping you when they sit on the shelf, so it makes sense to limit the size of your library to the books that you refer to regularly. That’s simply not the case with Logos libraries—they’re the equivalent, plus more.

How does this help me?

You’re getting more out of your books when they’re in the Logos format than when they’re just print resources, but what is that “something more?”

It’s where you’ll find unexpected insights. They might come from an author you’ve never heard of, a book you never expected to read, or a resource you forgot was even in your library.

When you add a book or collection to your library, you might not know how you’ll use it in the future. But you’ll only have the ability to do powerful searches and study if you own the resources.

You can often get books for just a couple dollars—when compared with the potential influence an insight or piece of wisdom can hold, the value becomes clear. You’ll be able to discover insights that will inspire you and help you impact others—even if you never read the book cover to cover.

So, what are the best ways to get more books?

If you don’t have a Logos 6 base package, that’s where you should start. Base packages are the ideal foundation for your library: you’ll get a combination of tools, datasets, and resources. If you’re looking for a specific recommendation, try Logos 6 Gold: not only will you get a great selection of books, you’ll also get all of Logos 6’s tools and media.

Get Logos 6 now!

If you already have a Logos 6 base package, consider one of these options:

• Upgrade your base package: after Gold, you have all of Logos 6’s features, so every higher base package becomes a library builder
• Add works catered to your faith with a tradition-specific base package
• Get a topical bundle focused on your favorite area of study
• Explore add-on products from the monthly sale
• Build your library at no cost with the Free Book of the Month