The (future) L5 Library & My Library--Preliminary Sketches

This thread is a branch from this thread. I put this in the General category only because there is no L5 category. Perhaps it is time to create one.

In the "L5...Must Haves" thread, I suggested the need for a customizable library with folders and subfolders to allow users the ability to visually organize their gargantuan libraries. Philana clued me in to the fact that Favorites actually has a folders and subfolders design. I have tested it and what it provides is very close to what I am looking for.

My suggestion is this: Essentially copy Favorites into Library, calling it My Library. Have radial buttons at the top which allow users to turn on or off the two as needed. Library, essentially what L4 has now, would be the "source" and Search location. My Library would be the Favorites-inspired folders and subfolders place to visually peruse My Library. Create your folders in My Library as you please and simply drag and drop your resources from Library into whichever and however many folders you choose. Eureka!!! For me, there are many advantages to this set-up. I find the 4,000+ lines of the current Library to be cumbersome and overwhelming. Using folders, that situation is tamed. Behold My Library:

There it is...all 4000+ items...tamed and comprehensible. Now, in fact, I haven't completed the task of transferring my entire Library into the folders above. Because this is still Favorites and not My Library, it doesn't make sense to do a full transfer now. That will have to wait until next week or next month when L5 comes out (*Not an official release notice ). But I have transferred enough to give a sense of what I am talking about. Hopefully, some of you will see the potential and advantage of this and push for its inclusion in L5.

Above is a breakdown of my Bibles category. I may choose to switch LXX and Greek (meaning NT) to a Greek folder with LXX & NT subfolders...but I like them all on one layout.

Above is my Commentaries breakdown. It isn't complete but shows the concept. Of course, the folders can collapse however one chooses.

For Reference, I include Dictionaries and Encyclopedias (which are often indistinguishable) as well as History. If I was exhaustively completing this transfer, no doubt I would have other folders here as well.

Of course, you may choose to make History a category of its own, or part of another category. That is the beauty of this concept...your Library is YOURS to organize.

One of the things I am most looking forward to when this idea is implemented in L5 () is being able to tame the Perseus Beast. I have a folder for Authors, but after some consideration, I will probably just rely on the "author:" search function of Library to get that breakdown. As a matter of fact, something occurs to me as I'm typing this. Since I have been grateful for Perseus in theory, but maddened by its absurd footprint in my Library, I have wished I could both KEEP it but HIDE it. Since I can make Perseus essentially "go away" by clicking the Library window closed and clicking the My Library window open, I really don't need to include Perseus in My Library after all. I personally only use Perseus when titles come up as references. As such, I don't really need to organize it...I can just click it away.

Me likes.

Finally, I will have a Stuff category. Essentially it is my junk drawer, but rather than call it Junk or Garbage, which might offend some of you who find such stuff invaluable, I will call it Stuff. I am sure this folder will bulge before I'm finished. The cool thing about this folder is that it SOLVES the need to "remove" items from the Library when you don't want it clogging up your Library visually. Just throw the "stuff" in the Stuff drawer. Of course, if disk space is an issue, you will still need to delete.

I don't how you folks feel about this, but I can tell you that there is a MASSIVE sense of restored peace in my mind that comes from looking at the first screenshot at the top. ORDER!!! SIMPLICITY. Control. I am now a much, much happier Logos camper.

Now...if Logos will just put this in L5....

Oh...and due to the enormous amount of time the user will have to devote to organizing this feature, it MUST be transferable to each successive iteration of Logos in years to come...like the import of L3 notes to L4--only better.