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. Virginia Tech hosts the service and provides the long-term preservation of the objects uploaded to BEDL on behalf of ASABE.

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.

No, the objects are not peer-reviewed. However, ASABE moderators review each object and its metadata for clarity and completeness before approval 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No, the objects are not peer-reviewed.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 review each object and its metadata for clarity and completeness before approval for inclusion in the BEDL repository.

Contributing is simple. First, you need to register as a user and then follow the steps provided through the “How to Contribute” quicklink.

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 meets all three of the following conditions: (1) The group of objects can be described using the same metadata; specifically, the objects must all relate to the same concept, location, and time; (2) The objects must all be of the same type (e.g., all images or all datasets); and (3) The objects must all belong to the same rights holder. If the group of objects does not meet all three listed conditions or you prefer that each object has its own DOI, please upload each object individually.

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

If an object you have uploaded needs revision, please email bedl@asabe.org, and a BEDL team member will work with you to implement the required revision or updates.

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.

There are two license choices:

• Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) - allows others to use, share, and adapt the work for any purpose, as long as they give proper credit to the original creator.
• Creative Commons Attribution–NoDerivatives (CC BY-ND) - allows others to use and share the work for any purpose, as long as they give proper credit and do not change the work.

The CC BY license is recommended to facilitate use by others. CC BY-ND should only be specified if the integrity of the object could be compromised by adaptation (e.g., a dataset).

For more information about 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. Please provide feedback on the Feedback page.