Announcement: Resource Type Change--Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Lexicon

Louis St. Hilaire
Louis St. Hilaire Member, Logos Employee Posts: 513
edited November 20 in English Forum

Today, Logos will be introducing two new resource types in Logos 4 to better handle different kinds of "dictionary"-like resources.

Resources in your library that currently have the type "Dictionary" will be automatically re-categorized via the metadata service into three more specific types:

Dictionary
Modern language dictionary. These resources typically have short definitions for the individual headwords, and the headwords cover a large percentage of the unique words in the language.
Examples: Merriam-Webster's, Collins Concise Dictionary

Lexicon
Ancient language dictionary. These resources may have short definitions or long sections on the etymology or usage of each word. The headwords are in an ancient language and typically cover a large percentage of the unique words in that language.
Examples: BDAG, HALOT
(Note also: Subject fields for lexicons have been reviewed to make sure they specify the language(s) covered and the language the resource is in. E.g. "Hebrew language--Dictionaries--English".)

Encyclopedia
Encyclopedic dictionary. These resources typically have long articles, and may only have a few hundred or thousand headwords. There is often a high degree of overlap with Bible Knowledgebase/Logos Controlled Vocabulary concepts (though not always, e.g., Dictionary of Christianity in America).
Examples: Harper's Bible Dictionary, Anchor Bible Dictionary, Dictionary of Christianity in America

How This Will Affect Users:
User collections based on the "Dictionary" type may need to be revised.
Lookups of Parallel Resources will now be based (by default) on the new types.
Note: This change does not affect Libronix

We expect to complete the changes this morning. If you're using Logos "online", you should see the results immediately.

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Comments

  • TCBlack
    TCBlack Member Posts: 10,978 ✭✭✭

    Wow, thanks Louis!  

    Hmm Sarcasm is my love language. Obviously I love you. 

  • David Bailey
    David Bailey Member Posts: 654

    Thanks for the information.  I had to re-start Logos 4 to see the new resource structure. I'm a bit confused about the change.  The library categorization has the type Lexicon, Encyclopedia, and Dictionary, with many resources in them.  But the resources themselves still reflect the original types.  For example, see the figure, where many resources still have encyclopedia as Type, but under the Library category Dictionary:

    image

  • Todd Phillips
    Todd Phillips Member Posts: 6,735 ✭✭✭

    We expect to complete the changes this morning. If you're using Logos "online", you should see the results immediately.

    Thanks!  We now have functional Encyclopedia of Christianity resources!  Their types have been fixed:

    image

    And they now show up in the look-ups:

    image

    MacBook Pro (2019), ThinkPad E540

  • Todd Phillips
    Todd Phillips Member Posts: 6,735 ✭✭✭

    For example, see the figure, where many resources still have encyclopedia as Type, but under the Library category Dictionary:

    David, I'm not having your problem:

    image

    Maybe another restart would fix it?

    MacBook Pro (2019), ThinkPad E540

  • David Bailey
    David Bailey Member Posts: 654

    Maybe another restart would fix it?

    Yes, I believe that fixed it. But the resource called Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations is still of type Monograph under the category Monograph.

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,798

    This is good news. It will help with forming collections.

    I have one of the new categories so far: Encyclopedia. Missing Lexicon. Will wait.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Floyd  Johnson
    Floyd Johnson Member Posts: 4,007 ✭✭✭

    [EDIT]

    I also had to do a second restart to get thing straightened out.  Both Encyclopedias and Dictionaries were mislabeled until I did the restart.

    Blessings,
    Floyd

    Pastor-Patrick.blogspot.com

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,798

    But the resource called Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations is still of type Monograph under the category Monograph.

    This is one we could disagree over. Dictionary in the name, but it doesn't serve as a dictionary, therefore a monograph. It is arranged by topic alphabetically but only in that way resembles a dictionary. It doesn't meet the criteria Louis listed for dictionary.

    Dictionary
    Modern language dictionary. These
    resources typically have short definitions for the individual headwords,
    and the headwords cover a large percentage of the unique words in the
    language.
    Examples: Merriam-Webster's, Collins Concise Dictionary

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Paul M
    Paul M Member Posts: 647 ✭✭

    This is good news. It will help with forming collections.

    I have one of the new categories so far: Encyclopedia. Missing Lexicon. Will wait.

    Works well for me over here, I appear to have got all the new categorizations which is great. Looks good over here!

  • TCBlack
    TCBlack Member Posts: 10,978 ✭✭✭

    A few more questions.... (issues?)


    Hmm Sarcasm is my love language. Obviously I love you. 

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,798

    I also had to do a second restart to get thing straightened out.  Both Encyclopedias and Dictionaries were mislabeled until I did the restart.

    Yep. Two restarts got them sorted out. I'll redefine my collections now.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,798

    A few more questions.... (issues?)

     

    I think rereading the definition of Dictionary says the ones you want to classify that way don't fit into that definition. As I replied to David Baily I don't think any of the categories applies to the Dictionary of Quotations. I don't have your first and last on the list so can't comment about where they ought to be. Sounds like you are right about the first one, though.

    Where's the uber-Librarian when he/she is needed? This isn't easy.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Louis St. Hilaire
    Louis St. Hilaire Member, Logos Employee Posts: 513

    [quote]Thanks for the information.  I had to re-start Logos 4 to see the new resource structure. I'm a bit confused about the change.  The library categorization has the type Lexicon, Encyclopedia, and Dictionary, with many resources in them.  But the resources themselves still reflect the original types.  For example, see the figure, where many resources still have encyclopedia as Type, but under the Library category Dictionary:

    I also observed this, but, as noted, it seems to go away once the library catolog update is complete.

    A Dictionary of Biblical tradition in English Literature should probably be encyclopedia, but is monograph.

    I just caught and corrected this. You should see the correct type now.

    The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names has the short entries of a dictionary but is classed as encyclopedia.
    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotationsi is classed as a monograph but is encyclopedic in character.
    The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology is likewise classed as an encyclopedia but is dictionary in character.

     

    There always end up being some borderline cases in any classification. We went with "Encyclopedia" for the Dictionary of Bible Names and The Concise Dictionary of Christian Theology on the grounds of what they cover, even though the entries are short.

    The Dictionary of Quotations is a bit of an oddball, as Mark noted. I suppose it could go in Encyclopedia--using that category as a catch-all--but I think it really would belong better classified with things like topically arranged collections of illustrations. As you're probably aware, the work we're doing on "topic"-like things (headwords/LCV/Biblical People/Places/Things) is ongoing, I'll look into where we're going with these kinds of resources.

  • David Bailey
    David Bailey Member Posts: 654

    Dictionary in the name, but it doesn't serve as a dictionary, therefore a monograph. It is arranged by topic alphabetically but only in that way resembles a dictionary. It doesn't meet the criteria Louis listed for dictionary.

    I agree.

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,798

    I think it really would belong better classified with things like topically arranged collections of illustrations.

    I agree with this. Illustrations and quotations are something that ought to be differentiated from monograph.

    I also think that there are Bible reference topical-type resources that should eventually be given their own type. Nave's, Elwell's Topical Analysis, Nelsons' Topical Index, The MacArthur Topical Bible, New Topical Textbook, Collin's Thesaurus of the Bible, Where to Find It in the Bible, and The Zondervan Dictionary of Bible Themes would all fit this sort of category. Call them Bible Topic or something like that.

    It is nice to know some progress in being made in this area. It will make using Logos easier.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Jerry M
    Jerry M Member Posts: 1,680

    "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power"      Wiki Table of Contents

  • TCBlack
    TCBlack Member Posts: 10,978 ✭✭✭

    There always end up being some borderline cases in any classification.

    That is an understatement.  :-)  Thanks Louis!

    Hmm Sarcasm is my love language. Obviously I love you. 

  • Milford Charles Murray
    Milford Charles Murray Member Posts: 5,004 ✭✭✭

    That is sooooo  smooooth!  *smile*

    Frankly, I really like "cloud computering"!

    I watched Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary change to "encyclopedia" right before my eyes.  Almost, as they (whoever they is!) used to say -- in living colour!

    Thank you, Louis and Logos!

    Peace to all

    Philippians 4:  4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........

  • Mark Smith
    Mark Smith MVP Posts: 11,798

    I noticed after this changeover that the parallel resource associations for my Greek lexicons virtually popped up rather than grinding away for awhile. Very nice.

    Pastor, North Park Baptist Church

    Bridgeport, CT USA

  • Simon’s Brother
    Simon’s Brother Member Posts: 6,816 ✭✭✭

    Today, Logos will be introducing two new resource types in Logos 4 to better handle different kinds of "dictionary"-like resources.

    Resources in your library that currently have the type "Dictionary" will be automatically re-categorized via the metadata service into three more specific types:

    We expect to complete the changes this morning. If you're using Logos "online", you should see the results immediately.

    Thanks for the work and thought put into this..

     

  • Friedrich
    Friedrich MVP Posts: 4,772

    I like Apples.  Especially Honeycrisp.

  • Jeremy
    Jeremy Member Posts: 686 ✭✭

    All these changes occurred without any updates or resource updates?

  • Simon’s Brother
    Simon’s Brother Member Posts: 6,816 ✭✭✭

    Jeremy said:

    All these changes occurred without any updates or resource updates?

    Logos 4 is database driven, so metadata can be stored separate to the content (i.e. resource files) and updates to metadata pushed out seamlessly.

  • Jeremy
    Jeremy Member Posts: 686 ✭✭

    For some reason when I do an exegetical study, some words populate with the full set of parallel resources, but others don't.

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 35,776

    The Dictionary of Quotations is a bit of an oddball, as Mark noted. I suppose it could go in Encyclopedia--using that category as a catch-all--but I think it really would belong better classified with things like topically arranged collections of illustrations.

    Agree. A Dictionary has a definition which Quotations are definitely not. At the moment all my books about Illustrations and Quotations are type:monograph. An Illustrated history of the holy bible (GS_kittohistory) is a monograph when its cousin An Illustrated history of the holy bible (ILLHISTBBL) is type:Media Collection - both apparently compiled by J Kitto. With similar descriptions and different contents it would help if these books were rationalised!

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • Mike S.
    Mike S. Member Posts: 477 ✭✭

    Today, Logos will be introducing two new resource types in Logos 4 to better handle different kinds of "dictionary"-like resources.

    ...
    We expect to complete the changes this morning. If you're using Logos "online", you should see the results immediately.

    Update appears to already be in Mac SR version.

  • William Norman
    William Norman Member Posts: 44 ✭✭

    Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia is listed as a monograph. It probably needs to be listed as an encyclopedia.

  • fgh
    fgh Member Posts: 8,948 ✭✭✭

    Dictionary
    Modern language dictionary. These resources typically have short definitions for the individual headwords, and the headwords cover a large percentage of the unique words in the language.
    Examples: Merriam-Webster's, Collins Concise Dictionary

    Lexicon
    Ancient language dictionary. These resources may have short definitions or long sections on the etymology or usage of each word. The headwords are in an ancient language and typically cover a large percentage of the unique words in that language.
    Examples: BDAG, HALOT
    (Note also: Subject fields for lexicons have been reviewed to make sure they specify the language(s) covered and the language the resource is in. E.g. "Hebrew language--Dictionaries--English".)

    Encyclopedia
    Encyclopedic dictionary. These resources typically have long articles, and may only have a few hundred or thousand headwords. There is often a high degree of overlap with Bible Knowledgebase/Logos Controlled Vocabulary concepts (though not always, e.g., Dictionary of Christianity in America).
    Examples: Harper's Bible Dictionary, Anchor Bible Dictionary, Dictionary of Christianity in America

     


    For the sake of clarity and completeness, maybe you could also provide your/Logos' definition of 'Thesaurus'? It seems to be a similar category that should also be taken into account when classifying.

     

    Also some stufff I noted while making my collections last week (a few others seem to have disappeared since then, so you're obviously working on it):


    • Building your New Testament Greek Vocabulary is listed as a lexicon, but Building Your Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary as a monograph.
    • Introduction to Aramaic is listed as a grammar, Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin as a Monograph.
    • One of Nunn's Greek books is listed as a grammar, two as monographs, and there were plenty of other grammatical works among the monographs as well. Now, I haven't looked at all (or any, really…) of these books in detail, so I can't say exactly what they are, but if they don't qualify as grammars, it would be helpful to have another category with 'gramma-something' in the title. I at least like to have all such resources in one collection, and writing long strings of text with 'synta morph analy diagram clause' to catch them all is unnecessarily complicated…
    • I would also appreciate if dictionaries, lexicons, grammars, and the like, were listed as lang:greek/hebrew/etc, and not just English. Title:greek will never find a Greek/Swedish lexicon, if there ever is one; lang:greek would. And it catches stuff like the TDNT, which doesn't have the word 'Greek' in the title. 
    • Torrey is listed as both 'R.A.', and 'R. A.'  Tischendorf is listed as both 'Constantin von' and 'Constantinus'. And, unless you've already fixed it, some guy I can't now remember is listed as both 'F.A' and 'F.A.'.
    • Browne, author of The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, seems to have no first name.
    • And if Good Things Come in Small Groups is indeed written in Afrikaans, my Afrikaans must be a great deal better than I thought it was…[:)]

     

     

    Mac Pro (late 2013) OS 12.6.2

  • Rosie Perera
    Rosie Perera Member Posts: 26,202 ✭✭✭✭✭

    As this thread is likely to soon get buried again, I'd encourage everyone from here on out to get back to the standard place for reporting metadata problems: http://wiki.logos.com/Metadata_correction_proposals (it's the top link under Bugs on the right sidebar of the wiki front page).