A technical standard is a set of guidelines or specifications established by organizations to ensure the safety, quality, compatibility, and performance of products, processes, or services. These standards help ensure consistency and interoperability across industries.
There are many available standards and many organizations promulgating them. The Library cannot collect every current standard, but you can use the links below to identify needed standards and then ask us to try to acquire a copy for you. Please consult with a librarian for more information about identifying and obtaining any specific standards you need for your research or teaching.
Note that one of the main collections of standards available in the Brown Library is that from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The Library now subscribes to the online version of the ASTM Standards and Engineering Digital Library, which is a vast collection of industry-leading standards and technical engineering information (link below). The Library covers a broad range of engineering disciplines, including aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, environmental, geological, health and safety, industrial, materials science, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, soil science, and solar engineering. Older print editions of these standards are available in the Library's book stacks under the call number TA401.A653.
Other major sources of standards and standards information include the following:
The Institute oversees the creation, promulgation and use of thousands of norms and guidelines that directly impact businesses in nearly every sector.
BSI British Standards is the National Standards Body of the UK.
Search engine for Chinese national, professional and provincial codes and standards.
A searchable database of active and older standards produced by the IEEE (formerly the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).
ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 157 countries.
Provides access to standards from over 100 standards developing organizations, including DOD and NASA. Its inventory of NASA Preferred Technical Standards consists of over 3500 standards approved/endorsed by NASA.
NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce that promotes measurement science, standards, and technology.
SES was founded in 1947 as a non-profit, technical association dedicated to furthering the knowledge and use of standards and standardization.