Reference Sources in Engineering  Tags: engineering techniical_reports standards patents directories dictionaires  

Introduction

Standards and codes are needed to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. Standards may be developed by innumerable national or international trade associations, groups of industries or government agencies. To identify current standards search the ANSI database, which contains many world-wide standards.

Upon publication the acronym of the publishing organization together with a number and the current year identifies a given title e.g. ASCE 36 - 2001. Acronyms of organizations involved in writing standards, e.g. IEEE, API or UL, are listed at NSSN: Search Engine for National Standards.

Finding Standards & Codes in the Engineering Library

Indexes to national and international standards are found in the Reference section on the first floor. These include the ASTM, NEMA and Pressure Vessel Standards. Some others are located in the Reference Handbooks section, such as ACI Manual and SAE Handbook. Other standards are located in the stacks by call number, e.g. ANSI and IEEE standards. ANSI A-Z numbered standards are shelved first, followed by ANSI/xxxxx (acronym) such as ANSI/ACI in alphabetical order. Only a few standards have been entered individually into the online catalog and are located directly in the stacks.

Codes include building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire, and maintenance codes such as: IBC, IEBC, IEC; IECC; IFC; IMC; IPC; IRC; UBC; BOCA; SBC; ADA; ANSI; Fair Housing: UFAS; and NFPA. Many are individually cataloged and are available in the print reference collection at the Engineering Library.

A brief overview with locations is given in the following tables:

US Organizations Involved in Writing Standards

Codes, including building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire, and maintenance codes have abbreviations such as: IBC, IEBC, IEC; IECC; IFC; IMC; IPC; IRC; UBC; BOCA; SBC; ADA; ANSI; Fair Housing: UFAS; and NFPA.

Some Foreign National Standards

Webpages of all the national and international organizations may be consulted directly. URLs not listed here can be found at some of the international organization websites above, or with a search engine, such as http://www.google.com. Standards not held at Cornell may be ordered by the library - please inquire at the Service Desk or send an email to engrref@cornell.edu. Otherwise, items may be purchased online from commercial websites and downloaded promptly.

Commercial Suppliers of Standards

NSSN was started as National Standards Systems Network, but is now "A National Resource for Global Standards", which includes more than 600 national, foreign, regional and international bodies. This online service allows searching for standards across agencies and organizations.

National Information Standards Organization specifications are available free for downloading in pdf format from NISO. NISO has developed standards for Information Retrieval (Z39.50), 12083 (an SGML Tool), Z39.2 (Information Interchange Format), Codes for Languages and Countries, and Z39.18 (Scientific and Technical Reports).

The International Organization for Standardization is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 130 countries. In the US the ISO standards can be ordered through ANSI, ILI and others cited above.

Some other sites:

Yahoo Directory - Standards
University Of Michigan Library standards guide
University of Manitoba Library standards guide