What package should I go for?
Hi, I'm Tom! 
I'm studying Theology, doing a full-time bachelors degree. Despite living in Union Theological College, with one of the biggest theological libraries in the UK, it can be really, really annoying trying to get the relevant book out before someone else does. While I'm not exactly a full-fledged scholar, I genuinely like to engage with issues such as meanings of the original text (I studied Biblical Hebrew for a year too and I'd like to put it to some use!). I was wondering, perhaps from others in a similar position, if the "Bible Study" package would be more than enough, or if I should consider the "scholar" package or something.
Thanks!
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Tom
First off. Welcome to the forums. This is a place where you can find answers to all sorts of Logos questions.
As a full-time minister - who uses Logos for sermon and bible study preparation - who has just completed a PhD at the University of Aberdeen, in which Logos was absolutely invaluable, I would suggest that you should go for the best Scholars Package you can afford - I have Platinum. Failing that the Original Language Library should be your minimum package.
Invest in Logos - and there are good academic discounts for students/seminarians. You won't regret it.
It's a tool you'll use for many years to come. I've been using Logos since 1993. It's the best investment I made in ministerial and academic resources.
Every blessing
Alan
iMac Retina 5K, 27": 3.6GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9; 16GB RAM;MacOS 10.15.5; 1TB SSD; Logos 8
MacBook Air 13.3": 1.8GHz; 4GB RAM; MacOS 10.13.6; 256GB SSD; Logos 8
iPad Pro 32GB WiFi iOS 13.5.1
iPhone 8+ 64GB iOS 13.5.1
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I would second what Alan said. You want to use your Hebrew, so you need at least the Original Languages Library. However that is sort of a niche product and the Scholar's Libraries are what I'd recommend. Unfortunately some good material just got taken out of Scholar's Platinum (which I have), so I would recommend going no higher than Scholar's Gold.
As a full-time student you may qualify for Academic Pricing. If you don't know about this you can contact academic@logos.com for more information and pricing.
Logos is a program that can grow with you. I have used it for about as long as Alan and wouldn't be without it (Lord willing, of course).
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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Thank you for the advice! I'll have to have a good think about what I can truly afford.
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Thomas Yassine Bourega said:
Thank you for the advice! I'll have to have a good think about what I can truly afford.
Logos does have generous payment plans and you can upgrade from one package to the next, don't feel like you have to buy it all at once.
Prov. 15:23
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I thought I had to actually! Was fretting a bit because I can buy the Scholar's package at the minute, but could honestly have justified the platinum package If I could have afforded it. I have emailed Logos asking about academic pricing. Hopefully, God willing, I can purchase and download the software soon, as I have a test on New Testament Epistles in a week and a half, as well as relevant modules in the future, as I'm only halfway through my course and have absolutely no intention of stopping at the bachelors.
This upgrade option is very good for me. If I were to go for the Scholar's package now, and opt to upgrade to the gold or platinum packages within the future, is it comparable to just paying the difference, or more?
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The upgrade price is roughly the same as paying the difference.
I just checked my upgrade price and the difference between the cost of my current package (Platinum) and Portfolio. My upgrade price is $260 less (not bad percentage wise as the upgrade is over $2k) than the price difference of the base packages. That doesn't mean that all upgrades would have a similar discount; you'd have to ask sales.
Prov. 15:23
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That bodes well anyway. Thank you all for the helpful advice, when Logos get back to me I may go for the scholar's edition then.
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Thomas Yassine Bourega said:
That bodes well anyway. Thank you all for the helpful advice, when Logos get back to me I may go for the scholar's edition then.
I have a different point of view of the topic. I have the original language package, and I will never upgrade. This is why I will never upgrade. I will not use the books in the higher packages. It was (is) cheaper for me to add to my original language package with the books that I would use than it was (is) to upgrade.
Therefore, I would recommend looking at adding the cost of the individual books you will/might use to see which way is more cost effective.
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Scholar's Gold includes UBS Handbook Series - what's important in each passage for translation along with many cross cultural insights:
http://www.logos.com/product/7842/the-united-bible-societies-old-testament-handbook-series
http://www.logos.com/product/6555/the-united-bible-societies-new-testament-handbook-series
Combine many items not included in Original Languages base package => http://www.logos.com/comparison with UBS handbook Series, Scholar's Gold is worthwhile
Scholar's Platinum includes Robertson's Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research:
Keep Smiling [:)]
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tom collinge said:Thomas Yassine Bourega said:
That bodes well anyway. Thank you all for the helpful advice, when Logos get back to me I may go for the scholar's edition then.
I have a different point of view of the topic. I have the original language package, and I will never upgrade. This is why I will never upgrade. I will not use the books in the higher packages. It was (is) cheaper for me to add to my original language package with the books that I would use than it was (is) to upgrade.
Therefore, I would recommend looking at adding the cost of the individual books you will/might use to see which way is more cost effective.
Each individual has to decide what is best for himself. When building a library, you need to think long range--not just your immediate needs.
One mistake that I see some making when evaluating base packages is looking at the titles included that they are NOT interested in. Don't worry about them (although you will later find use for many that you didn't think you would). Look at the titles that are of interest and see what they would cost you to buy separately.
I started with the Bible Study pkg, upgraded to Scholars Gold and then to Platinum after it became available.
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Edwin Bowden said:
Each individual has to decide what is best for himself. When building a library, you need to think long range--not just your immediate needs.
One mistake that I see some making when evaluating base packages is looking at the titles included that they are NOT interested in. Don't worry about them (although you will later find use for many that you didn't think you would). Look at the titles that are of interest and see what they would cost you to buy separately.
I started with the Bible Study pkg, upgraded to Scholars Gold and then to Platinum after it became available.
Edwin, I agree with you that everyone needs to decide what is best for himself OR HERSELF. ( Because Logos wants more women users, we should also make the forums more friendly for women.)
Another question that we need to ask ourselves is "What are we going to use Logos for?"
I personally use Logos to prepare a Bible study and my sermon prep. I do not and will not use Logos for my devotions or to read for pleasure. For these activities, I still need a physical book.
Because I personally will not spend 100's or 1,000's of U.S. dollars on something that I "might" need in the future. I took a close look at the books that I would use.
- I do not need all of the various Bible translations (I have Bible Works for the various translations)
- Some of the commentaries in the higher packages I would like (UBS, JPS Tanakh, and NIGTC), but do I need them? The commentaries that I wanted and use are not in any of the packages (Hermeneia, Word, Interpretation, etc...)
- I would like some of the Biblical history books, but the commentaries that I have already have has this information.
- Biblical references, there were a couple of dictionaries that I wanted and would use.
- Bible introduction, there are a couple of books that I wanted, but they are not included in the packages
- Bible studies: none
- Maps, Yes
- Preaching: no, Ministry: no, Counseling: no, Devotionals: no, Theology: no, Church History: no, Apologetics: no, Lectionaries: yes, Harmonies: no, Ancient Texts: several, Original Language: some
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I'm all but sure that I'll go for the scholar's package. I'm still waiting on the email back from Logos back for te academic discount, so I can see what the final price works out as, so I can make my decision.
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I'm sure you won't be disappointed in what you receive, as you might be (would be) with the Bible Study Library.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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tom collinge said:
Edwin, I agree with you that everyone needs to decide what is best for himself OR HERSELF. ( Because Logos wants more women users, we should also make the forums more friendly for women.)
Concur - personally choosing to build Logos library - lot lighter to physically move and much quicker to search - several book shelves now empty.
tom collinge said:Another question that we need to ask ourselves is "What are we going to use Logos for?"
Agree appropriate package depends on usage - since I am reading UBS Handbook Series and Robertson's Grammar, upgrading to Scholar's Platinum was good choice for me.
Good idea to look at resources in various base packages - tabulate useful ones - then decide whether package or individual purchase offers best value.
Community pricing offers relatively inexpensive future library additions => http://www.logos.com/products/search?Status=Community+Pricing&start=0&sort=progress (albeit some items take years to gather enough bids - e.g. Barnes Notes).
Keep Smiling [:)]
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Are they usually slow to reply back? It's been almost 2 days since I emailed them and still no reply. As my test is in a week and 2 days, the sooner I can get my hands on the software the better!
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Sometimes Logos can be slow. If I were in your shoes I would call the 800 number (in in US, if not there's a UK number or you could use Skype) and ask for academic sales.
Prov. 15:23
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I tried figuring out the cheapest ways of contacting Logos - turns out, after a brief google search, that I could call a toll free number in the US for nothing if I used Skype to do it.
Phoned up, got the 30% off the Scholar's package and successfully purchased! Downloading the 5.66GB library now!
Weirdly, had to pay over three months as my extremely over-zealous bank account blocks any transaction it deems possibly fraudulent (it blocked me from buying £20 of books from a Christian Book shop too today), so I had to go for it over three months. The guy I was talking to said that if I paid the rest within thirty days it would negate the $5/month charge so that's cool.
Anyway, thanks for all your help!
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Great. You got a good price and can truly evaluate how Logos can be of help to you with that library.
Don't forget to check the wiki and the many videos to learn more about how to set up and use Logos 4.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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Thanks for the links. Kevin Becker was also right about the upgrade prices. This bodes well, as, if I deem it necessary, I can upgrade to gold or platinum over the summer.
I'm impatiently waiting for it to download onto my MacBook Pro as we speak. Philip, the person who I talked to to order the software, sent me the list of discounted books I can get as a student. Some of the discounts are massive!
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My download has stopped at 58% and the downloader has been eating 100% of the cpu for a while now... is this typical?
Edit: never mind, phoned up. A helpful woman called Chrissy helped me get it sorted!
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Thomas,
I'm in the same postion as you, just started an MA. How re you finding the product?
Chris Rees
(Chepstow, UK)
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Well I've been spending a lot of time trying to get used to it so far, as there's a lot that one can do with it. It's certainly worth the money I've paid for it, but haven't used it very much, as I'm trying to work off a paper book at the minute.
When I have used it, it's been very good, and I'm confident I'll upgrade the library in the near future. Having three bible versions, four commentaries and an information panel on the one screen is very useful for me, and reoves the frustration of bouncing from book to book. The fact that you can set up the software to "follow" your progress through the bible is also excellent.
I'd certainly recommend it!
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Kevin Becker said:
The upgrade price is roughly the same as paying the difference.
Well said, Kevin. This is the really great thing about LOGOS packages: LOGOS offers scalable solutions--you can use past purchases as credit as you move forward.
Mind you that other publishers--even those who use LOGOS--do not sell licensing the same way. Without reviewing my own sordid history of purchases and expectations of programs and libraries that become obsolete and the only way to upgrade is to purchase the entire new offering (the key word here is "buyer's remorse"), let's just say that LOGOS has a growing reputation for:
- being an industry standard library cross-platform,
- taking care of their customers, and
- offering common-sense upgrades (a.k.a. "scalable solutions")
A LOGOS sales rep. explained to me that we normally pay about 10% above the original difference between the two packages as we upgrade. His explanation was that this was not administrative costs, but I'll use the term "market forces"--he explained that as they put together a large package with 150 titles, they can talk each publisher into a slightly smaller royalty per title than on a package with a 100 titles. So we pay more per title for the 100 title package. When we upgrade, we get the benefit of the greater discounts on the remaining titles--and at that point the roughly 10% difference is where we paid a higher price per title on the first, smaller package.
So what would keep us from paying for the largest package available the first time? While there are many practical and wise stewardship answers, and Dave Ramsey may go on for awhile here, though the ones I'd like to offer are:
- fiscal responsibility teaches us not to run up huge debts for hundreds of titles when we're just starting out,
- smaller libraries are easier to manage to keep a beginner from becoming overwhelmed and discouraged, and
- the 10% cost of a later upgrade is well below what we could pay to carry the debt on a payment plan.
While I'm sure Logos would respond that fewer titles do not enable a user to do the really exhaustive searches, and that they offer training videos and seminars to keep a new user on track, I think all things considered, we'd have to agree that LOGOS makes some really great offerings, they have a win-win mentality that is apparent in dealing with their customers. It is no surprise that they have grown the way they have, and as there are now over 10,000 titles available on the LOGOS platform, there is nothing to lose in purchasing with LOGOS!
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