Should you buy the Libronix Library Builder this Christmas?
It's a big question considering that the whole set can set you back $399.95 but if you're considering the Library Builder: Volumes 4-6 then I encourage you to take a look at this collection file I created which catalogs the set. Using that I can show you how to make an informed decision easily.
- How to see what you already have or don't have unlocked.
- Save this collection file to your normal collections directory which is more than likely set to my documents/Libronixi DLS/collections
- Then load Libronix and ...
- Open "My Library"
- Select Library Builder: Volumes 4-6 from the drop down list
- Scroll through the list to see which ones are locked or unlocked.
- Make an informed choice. ;-)
Whether or not you think it's worth the money, sound off here and let me know.
Related Content:
| Attachment | Date | Size |
|---|---|---|
![[file]](http://www.stilltruth.com/sites/all/modules/webfm/image/icon/f.gif "Download Library Builder- Volumes 4-6.lbxcol"){kind=icon} Library Builder- Volumes 4-6.lbxcol | 12/08/07 11:40 am | 12.65 KB |
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Thank you! Two questions, though: Did you attach the collection file? I can't seem to find it. Also, as a side note, the banner for AN hosting on the top right links to a different host and different deal.
Yes, Sorry about that. I've reset the download link, it should be there now.
Concerning the advert. Midphase is the parent company. Apparently they've changed the offer without changing the banner. :-).
Fixed.
'Don't want to start getting that new guy pain in the neck rep, but I downloaded the collection file and referenced it against my personal library. Unless I did something wrong or am misreading the results, the collection file is missing a number of resources in Library Builder 4-6 including two of the three primary commentary sets (Int'l Theological and Preaching the Word) and both the Explorer and Mills study guide series, which is confusing because the screen print in your instructions shows some of these resources as being there. Anyway, the file as is was still helpful, as it showed I have 42 of the books in the collection already unlocked on my system, but when I run a Tools / Bibliography report on the collection file itself, it only lists 136 books total of what Logos says is a 300 book library supplement. - Steve R.
The reason that you're seeing only a portion of the titles is because your copy of Libronixi only has access to 136 of those books out of the total 300. If you open the .lbxcol file in a text editor (like notepad.exe) you'll be able to see all of the internal codes for about 300 books. The references are there, but Libronix doesn't know about the ones it can't see.
The only way for you to see them all would be to download all of the locked files from the ftp server to your hard drive, permit Libronix time to discover and catalog them and then open the library dialog with the collection file and you'll see what I see.
A serious flaw perhaps in my method but then again I've always had a complete copy of the ftp server on hand. :-)
Thank you for your answer to my previous inquiry.
It now makes sense why I am unable to see the locked resources.
But now a follow-up question: How do I go about "downloading all of the locked files from the ftp server to your hard drive"?
I know your intent of this blog is not to be technical support, but if I could get by this hurdle, it would help with other related items in Libronixi that are not clear. I tried to use the help function and searched for "ftp" and didn't get any results.
Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to offer.
Dave
you will need some kind of ftp (file transfer protocol) program. There is a rudimentary ftp built into windows but it is IMHO inadequate.
Though it is outdated I am a fan and user of LeechFTP by Jan Debis. There are other good FTP's out there, and for simplicity sake I might suggest using filezilla. But feel free to google around a bit to find one you like.
Using that program you can ftp (used like a verb) into the server at ftp.logos.com do what is called an "anonymous" login (most software does this automatically) and navigate to the book directory which i'm trying to remember is called lbxbooks or something like that.
Here is where different software will help or hinder your cause.
If you navigate to the directory where you're local books are stored, this is more than likely
c:\program files\libronix dls\resources\
and do a compare to the logos ftp server you will get a list of all books which you do not have downloaded. Download that rather large and massive collection and you'll have a local copy of all locked and unlocked books.
Be warned though, this can be a huge download by anyone's definition. And if all you're doing is file compare it might be better served to just do a print out and check off the differences with a pencil.
Thanks for clarifying where the "missing" files were. A non-FTP approach to obtaining the files for anyone interested is to simply download each resource individually from the Logos site by clicking on the lbxlss file on the specific product page under "Download Book File." A bit more tedious, but for those without the ability or the desire to do it the FTP way, it's one solution.
Of course, it's also all a bit academic. Fact is, all my unlocked books appear in the report regardless of how many locked books are listed, so I can just do the math. The REAL benefit of your collection file is, after all, identifying in a very quick, simple and straight-forward way the resources of Library Builder 4-6 that someone already owns, (42 out of 300 in my case). So "Thanks!"
BTW, I have used this individual download method a number of times to update various books in my library that were in the old Logos Library System (lls) format from different compatible Baker and Thomas Nelson software products, (such as the R.C. Sproul Digital Library, the Ultimate Electronic Bible Reference Library and the Preacher's Goldmine Collection). The Libronixi Update program didn't notice the older format, so I did a Bibliography report showing book locations and file names, noted each .LSF extension and then searched for and downloaded book updates one at a time. It took some time, but the enhanced functionality of the newer versions was definitely worth it.
As a serious lay-person who owns both the Logos Bible Study and Leadershipi Libraries (and Library Builder 1-3), I've reluctantly, but I think wisely (for me) decided to pass this year. I have to say that I was disappointed in the choice of products to include (or more accurately what NOT to include) this year and somewhat disappointed in the "sales pitch" by Logos as well. While it's not inaccurate or unethical, I think it's a bit misguided and from my perspective almost a little insulting. One of the things I love about the resources available for the Libronixi Library and the thing I appreciated MOST about last year's offering of Library Builder Volumes 1-3 (which I couldn't purchase fast enough) is the variety and the quality of the books. The Christmasi 2006 offering included THREE resources from the Logos Top Ten Downloadsi List, (IVP NT Commentaries, CP NIV Commentaries and Biblical Essentials). This year's collection has none! (Yes, I understand that you don't want an offering like this to undermine other sales too much, but please quit telling me how much "better" this year's Library Builder collection is.) Volumes 4-6 are also very clearly more geared for the pastors and seminary students in the Logos audience, as evidenced by the many language tools and pastor-focused commentaries included, as well as the number of books included which are already offered in the non-Scholar libraries. That said, I still have to say that, again in my opinion, the inclusion of a few quality and more versatile resources such as the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, the Tony Evans' Understanding God Series, the J. Dwight Pentecost Collection or the Following God Workbook Series would have gone a long, long way in making this not just all about the number of books offered or the pennies on the dollar, but what a special offering like this can do for the most people in truly helping them grow in their understanding of the Bible and knowledge of God and His will for their lives. Maybe in 2008. Until then, I'll just keep being thankful to God (and to Logos) for the contribution their Bible study tools have made in my walk and growth as a Believer.
Steve R.
Following up briefly on my posting above, I was both surprised and disappointed to see the following statement made THREE times by the folks at Logos in the most recent email promotion for the Library Builder 4-6:
"We excluded resources that are part of the Logos 3 base collections (with the exception of a few items that are in Scholar's Library: Silver and Gold) so that you would be getting as much new material as possible."
Thanks to the collection file provided as part of this original post, I was able to gently but firmly inform them that they were either significantly mistaken in what they think is in their other collections or how they went about deciding what to put in this year's special library supplement. I also can't help but wonder how much of this is directly related to their new head of sales after the departure of a solid Logos veteran. (I apologize to anyone who just views my comments as "being negative," but I've always had the utmost respect and appreciation for the people at Logos, their mission and their products, so this is both extremely frustrating and discouraging for me as a customer.)
Anyway, for anyone interested, here is the list of the duplicate books I shared with the Logos Sales Department:
(Key B=Bible Study Library; L=Leader's Library; C=Christian Home Library)
Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine (B,L,C)
Basic Questions on End of Life Decisions (B,L,C)
Basic Questions on Sexuality and Reproductive Technologyi (B,L,C)
Basic Questions on Suicide and Euthanasia (B,L,C)
Be Comforted (B,L)
Be Decisive (B,L)
Be Holy (B,L)
Be Obedient (B,L)
Be Patient (B,L)
Be Satisfied (B,L)
Be Strong (B,L)
Be What You Are (C)
Being Holy, Being Human (L)
Christianity on the Offense (B,L,C)
Clergy Couples in Crisis (L)
Defending Your Faith (B,L,C)
Engaging the Closed Minded (B,L,C)
Fresh Ideas for Administration & Finance (L)
Fresh Ideas for Discipleship & Nurture (L)
Fresh Ideas for Families, Youth & Children (L)
Fresh Ideas for Preaching, Worshipi & Evangelismi (L)
Good Things Come in Small Groups : The Dynamics of Good Group Life (B,L)
Liberating the Leader’s Prayer Life (L)
The Moral Foundations of Life (B,L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 1: The Power of Loving Your Church (L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 2: Pastoral Grit (L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 3: Preaching With Spiritual Passion (L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 4: Listening to the Voice of God (L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 5: Leading With Integrity (L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 6: Character Forged >From Conflict (L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 7: Deepening Your Conversation With God (L)
The Pastor’s Soul Volume 8: Your Ministry’s Next Chapter (L)
Seven Myths About Small Groups : How to Keep from Falling into Common Traps (B,L)
Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ (B,L)
Starting (& Ending) a Small Group (B,L)
The Temple: Its Ministry and Services as They Were at the Time of Jesus Christ (B,L)
Well-Intentioned Dragons (L)
When It’s Time to Move (L)
I got a very welcome email reply to my observations and concerns about the Library Builder promotion email. The reply was from Dan Pritchett who was and still is the "Director of Marketing" at Logos, for which I apologize for misstating above. (The person I was referring to above does play a fairly significant role, but he is NOT the "Big Dog" of Marketing. I misspoke, I was wrong, I've asked Dan's forgiveness for the error and I also ask yours. I should NOT have included that comment.) Anyway, Dan indicated that they are looking into the matters expressed above and in the email. Thanks!
Those of you who receive the Logos Newswire email notices are already aware of this, but for anyone and everyone else who isn't I thought I'd share that Dan Pritchett, Logos' Director of Marketing sent out a "correction and communication" statement of his own yesterday that broadened the possibility of some redundancy in content between Library Builder 4-6 and their line-up of base packages. Specifically, he said, "I should have left off the identification of Silver and Gold since there are books included in the Library Builder Volumes 4-6 that are in fact in various base packages—not just Silver and Gold." As far as the reason for the misstatement, he shared that "In my rush to get the message about our Christmasi Special out the door and save some time, I used the basic template from last year's Christmas Special and forgot to change some important text in that message." Dan also expressed his regret for the mistake and asked for forgiveness for any confusion it caused, (which I have gladly done and hope others will as well), as well as offering to allow people to cancel their orders based on this new information "no questions asked" if they should choose to do so. (Thanks Dan & Logos for correcting this so quickly and contritely.)
They've already sent it to you and you realize the redundancy? I was on the Logos cruise and was encouraged to buy the Gold package. Having seen a list of last years collection, I purchased this years Christmasi special believing in them to produce product that would be good for Gold. Please advise. Thanks!
...here is a word-for-word copy of the Logos Newswire email that I (and hundreds of others) received 12/12/07 which may give you the guidance you are seeking:
LOGOS NEWSWIRE - APOLOGY AND CORRECTION
I am sorry. I made a mistake.
As you may know, we had a tremendously successful Christmasi Special last year. In my attempts to not "fix what isn't broken" and make this year's Christmas Special even better than last year's, I tried to use as much of last year's messaging as possible. Unfortunately I was not careful enough to go over every word with a fine toothed comb.
In my rush to get the message about our Christmas Special out the door and save some time, I used the basic template from last year's Christmas Special and forgot to change some important text in that message.
The text which was incorrect was: "We excluded resources that are part of the Logos 3 base collections (with the exception of a few items that are in Scholar's Library: Silver and Gold)"
To be more precise I should have left off the identification of Silver and Gold since there are books included in the Library Builder Volumes 4-6 that are in fact in various base packages—not just Silver and Gold.
We tried to keep the customer of Scholar's Library Gold in mind while making this year's special, and still included over $4,000.00 worth of books over and above Gold—so even if you have Gold you are still getting an amazing value at around ten cents on the dollar.
...and as long as I am admitting my errors and sending corrections, I might as well humble myself further and admit I also forgot to change 2006 to 2007 on a few messages, so forgive me for that as well. Yes, the special is good through the end of this year—2007.
The web page has also been updated: http://www.logos.com/products/details/3599
Again, I am sorry for the mistakes and any trouble it has caused. If you would like to cancel your order based on this new information, please call 800-875-6467 and ask for customer service. We will be happy to help you, no questions asked.
Please forgive me,
-Dan Pritchett (Mr. NewsWire)
Unfortunately, I have to agree with you Steve R. I was so excited last year with vv. 1-3. I hoped that they would do the same again and I went into this year's offering basically with the presumption I would buy. But I will not. The offerings are fair at best (I already have 130 of them) and the one's I don't have, I can live without, especially for $400. (thank you tcblack!) I don't know anything about sales personnel, but this is a profoundly disappointing offering as far as I am concerned.
Thanks for making the library catalog available.
I followed your instructions and copied the file to the directory you specified and it worked just fine, but just one quick question: How do I get the locked files to appear as in your illustrations?
I can see all of the files in my own library which are available and unlocked, but cannot see the locked files (so as to know what I would possibly be gaining by purchasing the Library Bulider 4-6).
I tried the collection picks "All Unlocked Resources" and "All Locked Resources" and that didn't seem to work in this case either. Any help or suggestions you or other readers might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Dave
The post above titled "aha" contains your answer.
To see the locked resources you would need to download the locked files from the ftp server (something I've always done).
However the file is not without it's use. If you go to Tools>Library Management>Bibliography and run a report you'll be able to select the collection and run a report against it. In the top right corner you'll also see the total # of files which you have that are in the collection.
Assuming that you have all of the files which are unlocked already. 294 minus that number equals the number of books you would unlock by getting the collection.
This is kind of out of the subject.
But, how do you make the bar/border on the Libronixi Digital Library System blackish and grayish color?
I believe those are just his generic Windows settings... Setting can be found on XP by right clicking on the background of the Windows Desktop (not on a icon or a windows), selecting properties, and clicking on the Appearance tab...
God Bless,
John
Actually it's the microsoft XP zune theme. I find it much better than the cartoony blue interface which is XP's unfortunate default. I alternate from zune to nothing so that it often looks more like windows 98 than xp.
Thank you guys!
I'm a book fanatic. And I initially placed the order for the Christmasi Library Builder. I examined what I have and don't have. I contemplated the books. There are several in there I'd like to have, and the price per volume seemed a great deal. However....
and it is a big however. I have to think about stewardship. So I took my own advice and forced a rational review of the book offer. As a result I deleted my order.
Can you walk me through how to put these files into the collections section of Libronixi? Appreciate any help.
With Libronixi closed, you will need to copy the file to the ..\My Documents\Libronix DLS\Collections directory on your computer... If you need a more exact patch, I'll need to know what username you use and OS version you have installed... In general, under XP the exact patch should be in the form of C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\My Documents\Libronix DLS\Collections
Once it is copied over to the right place, you can start Libronix... The new collection should now be there...
God Bless,
John
Thanks John,
I'm having difficulty understanding which exact file you are talking about. I have the 3 cd's and am pretty good with computers. My customer ID is veeness@praize.com. My system is running Vista Home Premium. I have the Gold package. Let me know if you need anymore information. God bless you, Valerie
is the collection file which is located in the body of this main post.
The file is called "Library Builder- Volumes 4-6.lbxcol"... Were you able to download it from the link before the comments?
God Bless,
John
I too was disappointed by the content of the offer and the maner in which it was presented. I own the Scholar Gold edition.