Standards and Specifications: A Research Guide

Standards and specifications mandated by organizations within certain industries undergo revision and change periodically. Standards regulate many industries and lines of work such as construction, agriculture, metals, and fire and building codes. Researchers who require access to this information will find a variety of resources listed below to help them with their search. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

Federal Information Processing Standards Index. Springfield, VA: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Computer Systems Laboratory, 1968– . Annual. ISSN: 00831816.
NIST develops FIPS for Federal computer systems when there are compelling Federal government requirements, such as for security and interoperability, and there are no acceptable industry standards or solutions.

Global Engineering Documents
http://global.ihs.com
Commercial organization with database searchable by document number, title words and date range, and results indicating price and availability.

Index and Directory of Industry Standards. Englewood, CO: Information Handling Services, 1983– . Annual. ISBN: 0898470080.
Indexes publications of the United States and international standards organizations and provides contact information for issuing associations.

Index of Federal Specifications, Standards and Commercial Item Descriptions. Washington, DC: General Services Administration, Federal Supply Services, 1952– . Annual. ISSN: 01989138. Available at http://apps.fss.gsa.gov/pub/fedspecs/index.cfm.
Provides access to federal standards and specifications.

Index of Specifications and Standards. Department of Defense (DODISS). Washington, DC: Standardization Division, Armed Forces Supply Support Center, 1979– . Annual. ISSN: 03638464. Available at http://dodssp.daps.mil.
Listing of United States Department of Defense standardization documents.

KWIC Index of International Standards. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization, 1983– . Biennial. ISBN: 9267101021.
Lists key word access to standards of international organizations.

NSSN: National Standards Systems Network
www.nssn.org
Database of standards searchable by title words or document number to identify standards and issuing organizations.

ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
http://web.ansi.org
United States source for ISO documents. Includes reference library links to national standards bodies, international and regional standards organizations.

ASAE (American Society of Agricultural Engineers)
www.asae.org
Provides engineering standards applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems.

ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers)
www.ashrae.org
Develops standards concerned with refrigeration processes and the design and maintenance of indoor environments.

ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials)
www.astm.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/index.shtml?E+mystore
Standards covering metals, petroleum, construction, and the environment.

FASAB (Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board)
www.fasab.gov
Develops federal accounting standards.

IES (Illuminating Engineering Society)
www.iesna.org
Lighting industry resource provides ordering information.

ISO Online
www.ico.ch
Source of ISO 9000, ISO 14000, and more than 14,000 International Standards for business, government, and society.

NFPA (National Fire Protection Association
www.nfpa.org/Codes/index.asp
Develops, publishes, and disseminates codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks.

NISO (National Information Standards Organization)
www.niso.org/index.html
Develops standards, methods, materials, or practices for libraries, bibliographic and
information services, and publishers.

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
www.nist.gov
Government agency working with industry on the development and applications of technology, measurements, and standards.

NSSN: National Standards System Network
www.nssn.org
Bibliographic information for more than 225,000 standards, searchable by title words or document numbers.

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)
www.sae.org
Resource for standards development, events, and technical information and expertise used in designing, building, maintaining, and operating self-propelled vehicles for use on land or sea, in air, or space.

UL (Underwriters Laboratories)
www.ul.com
Develops standards for safety.