Toolkit for SEAS Students: Handbooks, Properties, Patents and More: Standards
What are Standards?
"Think of [standards] as a formula that describes the best way of doing something."
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
"Standards allow technology to work seamlessly and establish trust so that markets can operate smoothly. They:
- provide a common language to measure and evaluate performance,
- make interoperability of components made by different companies possible, and
- protect consumers by ensuring safety, durability, and market equity.
- NIST
Standards at UB
The University at Buffalo Libraries have a selected collection of standards and specifications. All ASTM, IEEE, and SAE standards are now accessible online, along with select standards through the TechStreet platform (see databases in sidebar to access). Some other standards are available in print.
Please visit the Standards Research Guide for more information on additional standards we have available here UB.
Please contact us first to see if we might have the standard you need here at UB or if it might be possible for us to secure a copy via Delivery+. If not, another option for you may be to directly purchase the item. The final tab, labeled "Obtaining Standards," provides further information on freely accessible standards, as well as details on how you can purchase a standard you need.
How to Locate Standards
You can use standards databases to search for standards by keyword or topic (e.g., footwear). Techstreet and the ANSI Webstore are two popular options and have coverage of standards worldwide (although not ALL standards developing organizations are represented in these tools, they do have great range).
- Techstreet (a standards provider)
Search 500,000+ standards and industry codes from around the world. This includes US standards like ASTM and ANSI, JIS Japanese standards, European standards such as BSI and EN, as well as international ISO standards. Standards can be purchased directly from Techstreet in PDF or print formats. - ANSI WebStore
Search for ANSI, ASTM, ISO, IEC, and other standards publishers by keyword or document number. Be sure to re-set the search box to "KEYWORD" if searching that way. This will provide you with the acronym and name of the publishing organization (as well as a standard number and the title of the standard).
Other specialized indexes exist for military standards, federal standards, foreign national standards, etc. These indexes are identified and cited in the respective sections accessible through the tabs above. Links are provided to the web version of an index where one is available.
Full Text Access to Standards
- ASTM Compass This link opens in a new windowProvides full text access to ASTM standards, manuals, papers, and journal articles. More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
- IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new windowProvides full text access to IEEE and IET publications. More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
- SAE Mobilus This link opens in a new windowProvides full text access to SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) current and historical standards for ground vehicles, aerospace, and aerospace materials. More InfoPartial Full-Text UB ONLY
- ASCE 7 Online This link opens in a new windowProvides online access to the ASCE 7 standard.More InfoFull-Text UB ONLY
- TechStreet Enterprise This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text PDFs from leading publishers of industry standards including ASME, ISO, ANSI, ASCE, and many more. NOTE: UB has access to only select standards in full text from Techstreet from ASME, HFES, and ISO. Access the database to see if the standard you need is available.
- National Fire Codes (NFPA) This link opens in a new windowFull-text, read-only access to all National Fire Codes and Standards. More InfoFull-Text PUBLIC
Engineering Librarian
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260
epautler@buffalo.edu
More Standards Information
In addition, refer to the Research Guide for information on obtaining standards UB does not own as well as citing standards.