Standards are detailed instructions that explain how something is to be manufactured, managed, designed, or otherwise handled. Standards are usually written by an authoritative body, such as a professional organization, government agency, or manufacturer. The Institute for Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE), for example, publishes electronic and electrical engineering-related standards.

To locate a standard, you should (ideally) know the following:

• Acronym and name of the publishing organization
• Standard number
• Title of the standard
• Date of the standard
• Subject of the standard

To identify a standard on a particular topic (e.g., seatbelts) or to verify a standard's date or number, use one of the following publicly accessible databases:

• The NSSN: National Resource for Global Standards Database
  http://www.nssn.org/search/AdvancedSearch.aspx
• The ANSI e-Standards Store Database
  http://webstore.ansi.org/ansidocstore/default.asp

Other specialized indexes exist for military standards, federal standards, foreign national standards, etc. These indexes are identified and cited in the respective sections below. Hypertext links are provided in those cases where a web version of the index is available.

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US industry standards in the ASL collections are listed alphabetically below by the acronym of the standards-issuing body.

AA - Aluminum Association

• Aluminum Standards and Data (Metric SI Edition, 2004)
  UGL/SEL REF TA480 .A6 A77
  
• Aluminum Design Manual: Specifications & Guidelines for Aluminum Structures (7th ed., 2000)
  UGL/SEL REF TA690 .A49

Information about other aluminum industry standards is available from the Aluminum Association website.

AASHTO - American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials

We keep current with certain selected AASHTO standards and specifications that relate most closely to the research interests of the UB Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER).

• Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (5th ed., 2004)
  UGL/SEL REF TE175 .P65
• Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: For Street and Highways (2003 ed.)
  UGL/SEL REF TE228 .M36
  Also available online at: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/
• AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (3rd ed., 2004)
  UGL/SEL REF TG23 .A25
• Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges (17th edition, 2002)
  UGL/SEL REF TG310 .A6
• Guide Specifications for Seismic Isolation Design (2nd edition, 1999, plus 2000 interim guidelines)
  UGL/SEL REF TG310 .G85
• AAHSTO/AWS D1.5-95 Bridge Welding Code (2002 edition)
  UGL/SEL REF TG315 .B75

Information about other AASHTO standards is available online from the AASHTO website.

ACI - American Concrete Institute

• ACI Manual of Concrete Practice (current edition)
  UGL/SEL REF TA439 .A64
  

  This multi-volume set (issued annually) contains all of the widely used ACI concrete and masonry code requirements, specifications, guides, and reports. The most recent edition is shelved in the UGL/SEL Reference Collection on the 1st floor of Capen Hall. Older editions are shelved in the SEL Book Collection on the 3rd floor under the same call number.

  Please Note: Since ACI does not print the full text of every standard and guide annually, you may find only a single-page synopsis for the desired standard or guide in the most current edition of the ACI Manual of Concrete Practice . If you find such a synopsis page, you will need to go to the older editions on the 3rd floor and work your way back chronologically until you find the latest year that provides the full text.

See the ACI website for additional information about ACI standards and standards-activities.

AISC - American Institute of Steel Construction

• Selected AISC standards, including the 2002 Seismic Provisions for Structural Steel Buildings and the 2005 Specification for Structural Steel Buildings , are available on the AISC Free Downloads page.

ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers

We have a standing order to receive all current ASCE standards in print as they are updated and published. These are kept in the UGL/SEL Reference Collection on the 1st floor of Capen. For a complete listing of our holdings, consult our ASCE Standards Listing, which also gives call numbers. These standards can also be searched by title, subject, keyword, or standard number in BISON.

ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers

• ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code ( older editions only : 1962, 1965-1966, 1974, 1980)
  SEL Book Collection TJ290 .A7

  The most recent complete print edition in our collections is the 1980 edition. Please Note: The downtown Buffalo & Erie County Public Library may own or have access to more current complete editions of the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code.

Detailed information on ASME codes and standards is available from the ASME website.

ASTM - American Society for Testing & Materials

• Annual Book of ASTM Standards (2005 edition)
  UGL/SEL REF TA401 .A64

  Volume 1 of this multi-volume work is the index for the set and contains both a subject and alphanumeric listing of all of the standards included in the collection. The 2005 edition is the most current edition at UB. It is shelved in the UGL/SEL Reference Collection on the 1st floor of Capen. Older editions are shelved in the SEL Book Collection on the 3rd floor of Capen under the same call number.

  Please Note: We purchase this set every three years. In the past we alternated doing that with the downtown Buffalo & Erie County Public Library and ECC North. The downtown Buffalo & Erie County Public Library or the ECC North Campus Library may own or have access to other, more current editions.

The ASTM Website provides access to an online catalog that can be searched by keyword or standard number. In addition, you can browse an alphanumeric listing of all ASTM standards.

AWS - American Welding Society

The standard listed below is the only AWS standard we keep up-to-date in Reference. We do have older versions of a limited number of AWS standards in our circulating collections; to locate these, search by title or standard number in BISON.

• AWS/AAHSTO D1.5-95 Bridge Welding Code (1995 edition)
  UGL/SEL REF TG315 .B75

Information on AWS codes and standards is available from the AWS website.

IEEE - Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers

• IEEE Standards (Current) - Members of the UB community have access to the full text of current IEEE standards via our subscription to IEEE Xplore. Once connected, select "Standards" from the left-hand search menu.
• National Electrical Safety Code (2002 edition - C2-2002)
  UGL/SEL REF TK152 .N345
  For commentary, discussion, and analysis of the code, consult the McGraw-Hill's National Electrical Safety Code Handbook , shelved in the UGL/SEL Reference Collection under the call number TK152 .M28
• AIEE Standards (1923-1962; incomplete) - Historical standards developed by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the forerunner of IEEE, are kept in storage (call number TK275 .A63). You can request these materials at the UGL/SEL Circulation Desk on the 1st floor of Capen Hall.

The IEEE Standards Home Page provides information about IEEE's standards and standard-related activities. It also provides access to the IEEE Standards Catalog.

NFPA - National Fire Protection Association

• National Electrical Code (2005)
  UGL/SEL REF TK223 .N27

  The National Electrical Code (NEC) is the nationally accepted guide to the safe installation of electrical wiring and equipment. The 2005 edition is the current version. Older editions (incomplete, 1978-2002) are shelved in the SEL Book Collection on the 3rd floor under the same call number. For commentary, discussion, and analysis of the NEC, consult the 25th edition of McGraw-Hill's National Electrical Code Handbook , which conforms to the 2005 NEC. The handbook is shelved in the UGL/SEL Reference Collection under the call number TK 260 .M345.

For information on all of the codes and standards published by the NFPA, see the NFPA website.

NISO - National Information Standards Organization

• Standards
  LML REF Z665 .A7-[standard number]

  NISO develops (often in association with ANSI, the American National Standards Institute) technical standards used by information services, libraries, and publishing. These standards are shelved in the Lockwood Library Reference Collection under the call number given above.

The NISO website provides detailed information about its standards and standard development process.

SAE - Society of Automotive Engineers

• SAE Handbook (current edition)
  UGL/SEL REFERENCE DESK AREA CD-ROM STATION

  Issued annually, this multi-volume handbook contains the full text of all SAE automotive "J" (Ground Vehicle) standards. The most recent edition, published on CD-ROM, is loaded on the CD-ROM workstation located in front of the UGL/SEL Reference Desk on the 1st floor of Capen Hall. Older, print edition are shelved in the SEL Book Collection on the 3rd floor under the call number TL159 .S62.

The SAE Standards web page provides information on other SAE standards including the "AS" (Aerospace Standards) series and the "AMS" (Aerospace Material Specifications) series. These can be be searched by topic and downloaded from the SAE website for a fee.

TEMA - Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association

• Standards of the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association (8th edition, 1999)
  UGL/SEL REF TJ263 .T8

Information about the TEMA standards is also available on the TEMA website.

UL - Underwriters Laboratories

We do not collect Underwriters Laboratories (UL) standards. However, the downtown Buffalo & Erie County Public Library may own or have access to some of these standards.

The Underwriters Laboratories website offers access to the UL Catalog of Standards, which provides a numerical as well as an alphabetical listing by keyword of its published and proposed standards.

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We do not in general collect standards developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). We do, however, have in our collections a limited number of ANSI-approved standards , including those listed above developed by other organizations such as IEEE that have been adopted/approved by ANSI.

The downtown Buffalo & Erie County Public Library may own or have access to ANSI and ANSI-approved standards. In addition, the Erie Community College North Campus Library has a selected collection of current and historical ANSI and ANSI-approved standards. We encourage you to call BECPL or ECC North to determine which ANSI standards they have in their collections.

ANSI Online provides access to information about ANSI and national and international standards-related activities. The ANSI Online Catalog is a searchable database of the more than 11,000 approved American National Standards. Standards can be ordered through the website.

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• Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (16th ed., 1998)
  Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC)
  UGL/SEL REF QD75 .A8

• Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (20th ed., 1998)
  American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Pollution Control Federation
  UGL/SEL REF QD142 .A5

• Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Wastes: Physical/Chemical Methods (SW-846)
  US Environmental Protection Agency
  http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/test/main.htm

Please Note: A listing of EPA test methods is available on the EPA Test Methods Index web page, which also has links to the full-text of selected test methods available on the Internet.

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• International Building Code (2006)
  UGL/SEL REF K3538 .A15 I5
  APL REF K3538 .A15 I15
  

• International Residential Code (2003)
  APL REF K3538.A15 I587
  

• International Fire Code (2006)
  APL REF K4180.F57 I58
  

• International Energy Conservation Code (2003)
  APL REF KF5701 .C68
  

• International Mechanical Code (2006)
  APL REF KF5708 .I55
  

• International Property Maintenance Code (2000)
  APL REF K3538 .I5847
  

• International Residential Code for One and Two Family Dwellings (2003)
  APL REF K3538 .A15 I587

Please Note: Most states, including New York State, have adopted the 2003 International Building Code (IBC) and its related codes listed above, although some states, such as California, for example, continue to use the 1997 Uniform Building Code , below. For a listing of the states that have adopted the 2003 IBC, consult the International Code Council's website.

• Uniform Building Code (1997)
  UGL/SEL REF KF5701. I524

• New York State Codes

  • Building Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN5813 .A4392 and APL REF KFN5813 .A4392 A2
  • Residential Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF TH420 .R47
  • Fire Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN5644 .A34 and APL REF KFN5644 .A34 A2
  • Fuel Gas Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN5813 .A34 A2
  • Mechanical Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN5818 .A4
  • Plumbing Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN581 .A432 A2
  • Fuel Gas Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN5813 .A34 A2
  • Energy Conservation Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN5813. N49
  • Property Maintenance Code of New York State (2002) - UGL/SEL REF KFN5813 .A345 A2

• New York City Building Code (current edition)
  http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/reference/code_internet.shtml

• National Building Code of Canada (12th ed., 2005)
  UGL/SEL REF TH226 .N37

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SEL receives federal standards, specifications, and test methods on depository from the US Government Printing Office. These are shelved by Superintendent of Documents (Su. Doc.) number in the SEL Government Documents Collection on the 3rd floor, Capen Hall.

• Federal Specifications (various) - Su. Doc. No. GS 2.8
  
• Federal Standards (various) - Su. Doc. No. GS 2.8/3
  
• Federal Test Methods (various) - Su.Doc. No. GS 2.8/7

Use the US General Services Administration's Federal Specifications Search Form or its browsable alphabetical and numeric listings online to identify items of interest.

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We do not have military standards and specifications in our collections (see below for information on access to these online). We do, however, receive the Department of Defense's Index of Specifications and Standards (DODISS) in print, which is issued in two parts: Part I, Alphabetical Listing, and Part II, Numerical Listing. The call number for the 2003 edition is UGL/SEL REF UC263 .A37326.

This index is also available on the Internet and can be searched without a password at http://assist.daps.dla.mil/quicksearch/ by standard number or keyword. The full text of military standards cited in this index are available to registered users of the Department of Defense's Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST). DoD screens registrations. To submit a registration request for access to ASSIST, go to: http://assist.daps.dla.mil/online/start/.

Please Note: If you cannot find the standard in the index or in ASSIST, the problem may be related to a change in the nomenclature for the document. For example, the document originally known as MIL-E-1 is now cataloged as MIL-PRF-1. If you know the numeric portion of the document (e.g., 215 for MIL-W-215), try selecting the "Numeric Search" button within the "Document Profile" report option and typing in the numbers only.

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• NIST - National Institute of Standards & Technology

  Federal Information Processing Standards
  SEL Documents Collection C 13.52: [standard number].

  From the FIPS Home Page you can browse the FIPS standards by category (hardware and software standards, data standards, computer security standards, and telecommunications standards) and by standard number, or search the FIPS standards catalog by keyword. Individual records for selected standards include abstracts.

• OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration

  OSHA Regulations/Standards (29 CFR)
  http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owasrch.search_form?p_doc_type=STANDARDS&p_toc_level=0

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Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Standards
Lockwood Documents Collection CAN P-29/ [standard number]

Standards, test methods, and specifications published by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB). Each standard is published as a separate document and is shelved in Lockwood Library's circulating Canadian Government Depository Collection. For an index to this collection, use either the CGSB Catalogue , which is shelved in the Canadian Government Depository Collection in Lockwood Library under the call number CAN P27/year or the online database at http://www.techstreet.com/info/cgsb.tmpl. The print index lists current standards, test methods, and specifications by standard number as well as by subject. Cross references for any Canadian standard that has dual designation with other standards, including ASTM, ISO, and ANSI, are included.

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While we do not collect the standards of other countries apart from the Canadian standards mentioned above, below we list and link to the online standards catalogs of some of the major industrial countries.

• Deutches Institut fur Normung (DIN) Standards
  The publishing company Beuth Verlag in Berlin provides access to the catalog of DIN standards. You can search by keyword or by DIN standard number. The pull-down menu gives you the price for the German standard as well as the English translation if one is available.

• Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS)
  The JIS Committee Home Page provides information on the development and marketing of Japanese national standards.

• British Standards (BS)
  The British Standards Institution website provides access to information about British Standards.

For links to Internet sites with information on the standards and standardization activities of foreign countries, go to the Regional Standardizing Bodies website.

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The UB Libraries do not collect the standards of the following agencies. For referral purposes, below we list the major European standards-issuing organizations with links to their respective websites.

• CENELEC- European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

  CENELEC is one of three European standardization bodies that together make up Europe's standardization system. Each of the three is responsible for the preparation and distribution of voluntary industry standards in specific areas, with some inevitable overlap. The area of focus for CENELEC is any equipment that uses electricity, ranging from household appliances to electricity generators. For more information, see CENELEC's website at http://www.cenelec.org/Cenelec/Homepage.htm.

• ETSI - European International Standards Institute

  ETSI is responsible for the standardization of telecommunications, information technology, and broadcasting products and services. More information is available on the organization's website at http://www.etsi.org/.

• CEN - European Committee for Standardization

  CEN is responsible for standards in all other fields not covered by CENELEC or ESTI. Its primary areas of activity include food, biotechnology, chemistry, mechanical engineering, energy, environment, construction, information technology, packaging, and consumer goods and services. For more information on CEN activities and publications, consult the CEN website at http://www.cenorm.be/cenorm/index.htm.

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The Arts & Sciences Libraries do not in general collect international standards. For referral purposes, below we list the major international standards-issuing organizations with links to their respective websites.

• ISO - International Organization for Standardization

  ISO is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 130 countries, one from each country. ANSI is the United States' representative to ISO. ISO's mission is to promote the development of standardization and related activities worldwide with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services. ISO publishes and distributes the ISO 9000 and 14000 standards. The ISO 9000 series is used worldwide as an international standard for quality assurance and quality control. The ISO 14000 series applies to environmental management systems. In this country, the ISO 9000 and 14000 series have been issued by the American Society for Quality Control . We do not have these standards in our collections. However, the downtown Buffalo & Erie County Public Library may own or have access to these standards.

  For more information on ISO standards, see ISO Online , which provides access to an online catalog of ISO standards that can be searched by title word and standard number. Ordering information is also provided. ISO standards can also be ordered through ANSI.
  

• IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission
  

• The IEC is the international standards and conformity assessment body for all fields of electrotechnology. We do not collect IEC standards. For more information on IEC standards, see the IEC World Wide Web Page, which provides access to a catalog of IEC standards and other documents.

• ITU - International Telecommunications Union

  The ITU is an international organization within which governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services, including the coordination, development, regulation and standardization of telecommunications worldwide. We do not collect ITU standards. For more information on ITU activities and publications, consult the ITU website, which provides access to a catalog of standards and other publications.

For information on international standards organizations other than those listed above, see the International Standards Organizations website.

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We have a number of reference books to aid you in identifying equivalent standards. For help in using these guides, please consult a Reference Librarian.

• World Industrial Standards Speedy Finder (1983)
  UGL/SEL REF TA368 .K34
  Groups related standards from the US, UK, Japan, France, and West Germany. Standards are listed by country's standard number and by product name.

• ASM Worldwide Guide to Equivalent Irons and Steels (3rd ed., 1993)
  UGL/SEL REF TA466 .W67

• Handbook of Comparative World Steel Standards (1996)
  UGL/SEL REF TA401 .A18 No. DS67
  An aid to identifying and comparing steel standards from the US, UK, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, and Canada.

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Many standards, both national and international, can be purchased directly from ANSI (see above) or you can make use of a number of commercial services that sell standards.

• Global/IHS Documents - Global/IHS is a commercial clearinghouse for current and historical engineering specifications, standards, and technical documents from hundreds of standards-developing organizations worldwide, including ISO and JIS, for example. Through the company's Website, you can search the company's database of available standards by standard number or title keyword and order standards online.

• Thomson's Techstreet - Standards information and catalogs for many of the various standards-issuing organizations are available at this site. Standards may be ordered online.

• Document Engineering Co., Inc. - Commerical document delivery service for U.S. industry standards, government specifications and standards, and foreign and international standards.

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