Why is "Parallel Resources" list and collection useless at accessing all my Bible Dictionaries?

Jim
Jim Member Posts: 724 ✭✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

If I bring up Tyndale Bible Dictionary and click the parallel resource icon, the only other resource available is the Eerdman's Bible Dictionary. This is not useful.

I have a collection, "Dictionaries-Bible" with 11 resources, all of them are similarly-constructed Bible Dictionaries including Tyndale. I've checked to show the collection in parallel resources and it does .... sometimes.

In addition to the limited selection above, if I open Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary and click on parallel resources, the first list is "Bible Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Lists" with 9 items, only SOME of which are Bible Dictionaries! The second list is my collection, but only shows 3 of my 11 Bible Dictionaries! The third list is "All Parallel Resources", which contains 11 items including an English dictionary, a Greek Lexicon, a book (Hebrews for Everyone) other non-Bible dictionaries and voila, Tyndale Bible Dictionary.

I'm sure there are technical reasons for this, but I really find it counter-productive when I want to compare Bible Dictionary entries for a particular topic/word. It seems like cycling through similarly constructed Bible Dictionaries should be a no-brainer and show off one of Logos' advertised features.

Is there a better way?

Have a great day,
jmac

Tagged:

Comments

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 35,857

    Jim said:

    If I bring up Tyndale Bible Dictionary and click the parallel resource icon, the only other resource available is the Eerdman's Bible Dictionary. This is not useful.

    What was the topic? This may not be unusual.

    Jim said:

    if I open Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary and click on parallel resources, the first list is "Bible Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Lists" with 9 items, only SOME of which are Bible Dictionaries!

    The second list is my collection, but only shows 3 of my 11 Bible Dictionaries! The third list is "All Parallel Resources", which contains 11 items including an English dictionary, a Greek Lexicon, a book (Hebrews for Everyone) other non-Bible dictionaries and voila, Tyndale Bible Dictionary.

    Again, what was the topic? The first list would have to be a collection of yours.

    Bible Dictionaries are usually type:Encyclopedia (in the Type column of Library). But type:Concordance can also display topics, as well as some type:Monograph.

    Type:dictionary (English dictionary) will appear in "All Parallel Resources" because bible topics are also English words!

    Jim said:

    I'm sure there are technical reasons for this, but I really find it counter-productive when I want to compare Bible Dictionary entries for a particular topic/word. It seems like cycling through similarly constructed Bible Dictionaries should be a no-brainer and show off one of Logos' advertised features.

    If you are happy with your Collections for parallel resources, then ignore the catch-all third list; as it will provide every possible resource for that topic.

    Parallel resources will match similar/same words as your topic e.g. salvation, "salvation, nature of". Topic Guide will match topics that Faithlife have catalogued in a database called Logos Controlled Vocabulary (LCV) e.g. it will match words like sin-bearer and scapegoat, eternal and eternity, salvation and German words for salvation! So use a Topic Guide as it will list most of your bible dictionaries (and concordances,etc.) that may not be listed by Parallel resources.

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • Jim
    Jim Member Posts: 724 ✭✭✭

    The topic was Cherub.

    You were right. I forgot that the list "Bible Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and Lists" is another one of my collections. 

    So It seems you're saying that only Bible dictionaries that have the same topic will show up. I checked. Out of my 11 dictionaries, 9 have Cherub or Cherubim and all go to that topic when I open them from my collections pane but not all these show up in the parallel resources lists. Again I find that frustrating.

    Using Topic Guides as you suggested looks like a better go-to choice though it requires more digging than just cycling through my Bible Dictionaries would have been if that worked.

    So in all thanks for the fast response and good help. 

    Have a great day,
    jmac

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 35,857

    Jim said:

    So It seems you're saying that only Bible dictionaries that have the same topic will show up. I checked. Out of my 11 dictionaries, 9 have Cherub or Cherubim and all go to that topic when I open them from my collections pane but not all these show up in the parallel resources lists. Again I find that frustrating.

    Topic (Headword, technically) matching is not as simple as we would like, being at the mercy of the resource/publisher. If you start with cherub in a bible dictionary other than Tyndale or Eerdman, parallel resources will list many more resources.

    If you want to explore further, try searching for {Headword cherub} in your collection.

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • Jim
    Jim Member Posts: 724 ✭✭✭

    If you want to explore further, try searching for {Headword cherub} in your collection.

    Now that worked quite nicely. Thanks.

    Have a great day,
    jmac