FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

BEDL is a global platform that supports teaching and learning in biosystems engineering worldwide by providing free access to a repository of high-quality digital resources contributed by users.

BEDL thrives on community contributions. Please consider contributing digital educational resources to share with the user community.

BEDL is made available by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) through a partnership with the University Libraries of Virginia Tech. ASABE members serve as moderators to review submitted objects and their associated metadata for clarity and completeness before acceptance for inclusion in the BEDL repository.

BEDL is hosted and operated by University Libraries of Virginia Tech on behalf of ASABE. For purposes of hosting and preservation, Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) is the responsible institutional entity. Virginia Tech provides technical infrastructure and preservation services, but does not acquire ownership of or intellectual property rights in the materials you deposit.

BEDL is for biosystems engineering instructors who wish to internationalize their course content and broaden students’ perspectives of the subject. Users include instructors seeking digital resources to expand and deepen their courses, as well as practicing engineers and other professionals seeking digital materials for continuing education and for specific projects or topics.

BEDL provides a variety of digital content (e.g., images/photos, videos, datasets, and interactive tools) from different geographical locations around the world, with metadata describing context and use that will support existing textbooks and technical standards as a source for materials for developing and delivering courses, examples, data, and specifications for practical applications.

No, the objects are not peer-reviewed. ASABE moderators review the submitted objects and their associated metadata for clarity and completeness before acceptance for inclusion in the BEDL repository.

BEDL supports biosystems engineering education by offering access to globally diverse and locally specific resources, such as images, data, and maps, that enrich course content.

A creator is the person or entity who made the object or has the license of ownership.

A contributor is the person who uploads the object into BEDL. A contributor can upload an object on behalf of a creator.

Users can contribute to BEDL by uploading objects for others to use and downloading objects for their own use.

No, registration is not required to download objects from BEDL. However, if you download objects, we would greatly appreciate your feedback on the usefulness of the shared resources and how they impact your work. You can provide feedback here.

No, the objects are not peer-reviewed. However, ASABE moderators do review each object to ensure they align with our defined communities and that their metadata accurately describes the content.

Contributing is very simple, first, you need to register as a user and then follow the steps as guided by the system.

Registration is a key step in maintaining cybersecurity. It ensures that uploads come from verified users, helping to prevent malicious activity, protect sensitive data, and keep the platform secure and trustworthy for everyone.

Yes, you can upload a group of objects if the group of objects collectively represents the concept you intend to share with BEDL users. Additionally, the metadata you provide must accurately describe the entire group of objects.

The review process of an object should not exceed about one week.

If an object you have uploaded needs revision, you will need to upload a new version that includes the updated information. When doing so, please clearly indicate which existing object it is replacing.

Respecting intellectual property and giving proper credit are core values of BEDL. The purpose of BEDL is to provide objects that can be used by others; therefore, an object cannot be included if the rights holder is unknown. The owner of the rights to an object is usually the creator, but could be their employer or a funding agency in some circumstances. Contributors are asked to confirm ownership and full rights to materials they upload.

The CC BY license is recommended to facilitate use by others. Specifically, the CC BY license abbreviation means Creative Commons Attribution. It allows others to use, share, and adapt the work for any purpose, as long as they give proper credit to the original creator.

The CC BY-ND license abbreviation means Creative Commons Attribution–NoDerivatives. It allows others to use and share the work for any purpose, as long as they give proper credit and do not change the work. This should only be used if the integrity of the object could be compromised by adaptation (e.g., a dataset). For more information about the types of Creative Commons licenses, please visit the Creative Commons site.

Each object, or group of objects, is assigned a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). A DOI is a permanent, unique link to the object/group of objects and can be included in citing contributions to BEDL.

BEDL is a collaborative space that grows through user input. We greatly appreciate your feedback on the usefulness of the shared resources and how they impact your work. We encourage you to suggest improvements and participate in shaping the future of BEDL. Please provide feedback on the Feedback page.

Yes. We would greatly appreciate your feedback on the usefulness of the shared resources and how they impact your work. You can provide feedback on the Feedback page