Technical Standards: Resources for Locating Standards

Many major technical standards can be found using these three databases:

What are standards?

• Codified guidelines that define how processes are to be performed or measured, or how products are to be designed
• Usually written by businesses, industrial organizations, and government bodies
• Serve to increase product quality and safety, and allow for interchangeability of parts

What are some examples of standards?

• Government-mandated specifications for how mattress flammability tests are performed
• Voluntary guidelines on ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality
• Voluntary specifications for the width and spacing of steps in staircases

Some standards owned by Fogler Library can be searched by the title or standard number in URSUS, our catalog.  However, we do have some standards that are not cataloged, so please contact me if you cannot find a specific standard.

If we don't have access to the standard you need, our Interlibrary Loan Department works with other libraries to obtain materials we can't access directly. The ILLiad system includes a form for requesting standards. It is important to provide as much information about the standard as you can identify, including the title, the number, the year of adoption and the publishing organization.

If Interlibrary Loan is unable to obtain the standard you need, talk to your faculty member and ask them to place an order request to Nancy Lewis.  Because of the high cost of acquiring technical standards, and the strict copyright and licensing restrictions, Fogler will only order them at the request of faculty members.