For those of you not familiar with Logos Bible Software, it is a robust software\biblical library that is packed full of feature sets that make studying the Scriptures an effort of efficiency. Now, let me be honest. I love physical books and I am convinced that nothing compares to physical book copies! In fact, I love physical book copies for the equity they build and the ability I have to pour my own thoughts into the margins that will somehow–hopefully–make their way into the hearts of my children as they inherit my library. The only drawback with a physical library is that I must be physically present to interact with the books I cherish so deeply.
This is the major plus that I have with owning and building a digital library with Logos. I can take my library anywhere I want, when I want, and interact with it how I want. Furthermore, the robust features within the software allow for seamless searching within the books and across my library. For example, say I want to search all available resources in my library for “serpent.” This is what it looks like:
20,348 results pulled from 1,348 resources that contain hits for the search. How long did this take? 13 seconds! Now, if I were sitting in my office looking at the several shelves containing my physical books and I was interested in reading several different viewpoints on serpents in the Old Testament I would have to pull each resource and work my way through the resources. Trust me, this would take much longer that 13 seconds. Not only does it pull from my books, but it also pulls from my notes and highlights that I have taken over the course of my studies. This is another robust feature of Logos Bible Software that has added a staggering degree of “recall” for my studies.
I also highlight and take avid notes from physical copy books, but one of the challenges is being able to remember those notes or find those notes. Not a problem with Logos. I can search within my notes for words or phrases I “remember” and–boom–they appear, and I am diving directly into notes that I knew would come in handy for future study sessions. Those of you in the ministry who understand the usefulness of such a feature are likely hooked right now!
Now, let’s say you are interesting in purchasing Logos Bible Software but when you get on the website you are overwhelmed by the vast number of resources available. Let me walk you through some suggestions.
Full Feature Set is a Must
Say, for example, you are looking through the Logos 9 Base Packages that are identified on a scale of precious metals (bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond) and you are struggling with which one to purchase. First, it is important to understand that the full feature set of Logos 9 is a must and the full feature set is only available starting at the gold package and up.
You will immediately notice the price for a Logos 9 Gold Base Package with the full feature set and many of you will say, “not a chance!” I completely understand because that is a lot of money for anyone to spend! (FYI, you can always get a lower price by calling and speaking to a sales representative with Logos). However, for anyone wanting to dive into robust biblical studies you need to understand that building a library (physical or digital) is not cheap! Remember, with Logos 9, the feature set is where the true value is found.
Consider the Logos 9 Gold package and do your own research by visiting Amazon to price physical copies of the books you think are helpful. It includes the 43-volume set of the New American Commentary, 17 volumes of the Pillar NT commentary, 24 volumes of the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, 22 volumes from the Bible Speaks Today commentary series (NT ONLY), plus many other commentaries that are pretty solid and beneficial for study. It also includes 24 English Bible Translations which is very helpful in comparative studies. I like to use the KJV, ESV, NASB, AMP, and several others when studying the Bible. The Greek Grammars and Lexical resources are very limited, but that may not be a deal breaker for you. All things considered, with the feature set being 719.00 as a stand-alone upgrade and the resources I listed; the package is worth the price if you can afford it up-front or with payments (you will pay slightly more with a payment plan).
What I don’t like is the hundreds of resources packed into these bundles that you cannot substitute or replace with beneficial resources. I don’t read magazines and journals and several other categories included in the packages. That being said, after researching and pricing the package features and library with physical copy books I came to the easy conclusion that it is worth the investment. Now, what about adding to the library in the future?
Size Doesn’t Equal Value
One of the mistakes that many make when adding resources to their library is captured in the idea that “many” equals “value.” This, my friends, is simply not true and is probably one of the downsides to Logos Bible Software. You may talk to a sales rep. about a specific “bundle” of books and the response will be, “that is a great package, but it may be beneficial to purchase the _________ that has 800 books you don’t have while the one you are looking at has only 300 resources you don’t have.”
The price different between these options may be 400-500 dollars and you immediately think to yourselves, “500 more resources…that must be a better deal!” Not exactly. Recently, I was looking to purchase a Legacy Gold bundle that had the JPS Tanakh Commentary set and several other sets that are on my list of “want to add.” This exact scenario was played out with the sales rep and when I went to look at his recommendation that had MANY more resources, it lacked the JPS set and several other resources I specifically wanted. Long story short, the package with many more resources that cost $450 lacked several of the key resources that I wanted. I didn’t buy either because–doing my research–I found another bundle that had the JPS Set and a bunch of other resources that I priced and researched on Amazon that I knew would be great benefits to my digital library.
“This Title is Included in the Following Collection”
Let’s say that you already own the “Logos 9 Gold Base Package” and you look to add the JPS Tanakh set to your library during a 35% March Madness sale (March highlights some of the best sales). You will notice the set is on sale for $241.14.
This is a fantastic sale! However, if you scroll down you will see a boxed in callout titled: “This title is included in the following collections:” and you will see:
For me, having already purchased a higher-level package initially (I actually got an amazing deal after having to switch from Wordsearch Bible software at 50% off plus free upgrade to Logos 9 when it came out) I was able to purchase the Logos 9 Messianic Silver Package for basically the same price as the JPS set alone and it added 109 resources that I KNEW I would use that would benefit my studies! This is–in part–due to the dynamic pricing feature with Logos where, if you already own resources that are in other bundles, the cost of those are subtracted and you are given the “dynamic pricing” that equals the cost of the bundle less the sales discount and the books you already own.
Oh, lest I forget, I also got a $300 valued Logos Course code from this purchase as well!
I have utilized this form of purchasing many, many times and I have been able to actually purchase books CHEAPER than the actual collection of stand-alone books were being priced. Another example of this was when I wanted the 5-volume Sermon Starters set of John Butler’s to read as devotional material in the mornings and it was priced at $70.99. Well, I scrolled down and saw that I could purchase the Logos 9 Baptist Bronze package for $48.13 and get the 5-volumes plus quite a few resources I researched that I saw as really good materials!
Lesson to be learned? Always research where specific books are found because you can save a lot of money and gain a lot more resources for a better price than the books by themselves!
Religiously Follow Monthly Free Books and Monthly Sales
This is a HUGE bonus to Logos Bible Software and sometimes takes research and time because there are sometimes more than just (1) free monthly book. Now, to clarify, I don’t always add the “free monthly book” due to the fact that the book is an absolute nightmare of exegetical error or chock-full of liberal-leaning doctrines. That being said, let me share what my recent monthly sale discovery landed me!
Yep! Around $60 for 11 (Death of Messiah is 2 volumes) resources that are absolute TOP-NOTCH resources to add to your library. The Raymond Brown, Death of Messiah 2-volume set, is over $70 for paperback copies on Amazon. You can’t find used copies of these for less than $30 a piece! The Anchor Yale Bible commentaries, though they tend toward a interfaith collaboration, are also very useful resources that are always priced over $50 per book. The NCCS is also a decent commentary series that focuses on how the text impacted the faith and tradition of the contextual audience. Also, anything involving Craig Keener is a win for me.
Let me share another incredible monthly sale (not free book) that I jumped in on that made me super happy!
Anything from the NICOT and NICNT is an absolute MUST for anyone that utilizes commentaries. Uniquely, I only like commentaries that provide language insights, historical and contextual insights, and cross-references. This series is a goldmine for all three of those things and each book is typically priced close to $50 per book but I was able to capitalize on two books that are very resourceful for less than $30 for the two! Invaluable to me!
Also, be on the look for academic monographs that are often times VERY expensive when looking for physical copies. Sometimes, monthly sales drop these into their list and you can grab a free and/or extremely discounted copy of the monograph.
Check them out!
I am not being paid or rewarded for this article, but I merely wanted to share my experience and give you some insights. If you have any questions please comment or reach out and I will do my best to help. I will post more in the future about Logos 9 and the things I am learning. Go check out www.logos.com