Standards

Contact

Linda Musser
Title: Distinguished Librarian and Head Earth and Mineral Sciences Library

Indexes

NSSN - Search engine for standards. The NSSN provides users with standards-related information from a wide range of developers, including organizations accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), other U.S. private sector standards bodies, government agencies and international organizations.

Index and Directory of Standards (link to CAT record) - This print index provides subject and organizational listings of standards.

Standards vendors also make their catalogs available for searching.

Other Resources:

World Guide to Standards Resources - Developed by the National Center for Standards and Certification Information, which is an excellent source of information about standards of all types.
Society for Standards Professionals - This site has an excellent overview of the different types of standards.

Industry Standards (U.S.)

Also known as voluntary standards, the United States differs from the rest of the world in that most standards development occurs within the private sector, with professional organizations taking the lead. ANSI, the American National Standards Institute, is an accrediting body that represents the interests of its member organizations. While some industry standards are ANSI accredited, many are not.

Major standards producing bodies:

ASTM International – one of the largest and most prolific standards-producing organizations

ASTM Standards Index (free)
Compilations of print standards are published annually in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards.
Penn State has online access to the latest edition of ASTM standards.

IEEE – access IEEE standards via IEEE Explore

Federal and Military Standards (U.S.)

standards.gov offers background materials and useful links for locating information about the use of standards in government.

ASSIST is the official source for specifications and standards used by the Department of Defense.

DODISS, the Department Of Defense Index of Specifications & Standards, was superseded by ASSIST, but it useful for identifying older standards and specifications.

EverySpec - This website provides free access to the fulltext of U.S. military and government standards, specifications, and handbooks.

Federal Register - Official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. Often, requests for comments, or standards changes/withdrawals are listed here.

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - Codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

International and non-U.S. Standards

ISO International Standards
International Telecommunication Union/ITU-T Recommendations (free PDFs)
IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission - Prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Search IEC subject codes, or browse by subject name. Search by keyword, committee, date.

DIN – German standards

Obtaining Standards

While some standards are freely available online, many are only available for purchase. A limited number of libraries collect and are willing to loan standards.