How to Find Standards

Engineers will often need to locate standards or specifications in the course of their work. A standard is a document

established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context (definition from the ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004).

Standards may be developed by a variety of groups, such as government agencies, technical or trade associations, professional societies or associations, or international or national organizations.

Copies of standards can be difficult to locate. The Engineering Library owns some in print and online, and these are listed in the OskiCat catalog. Selected major sets are also listed in our selected list of Standards at UC Berkeley.

If you do not find the standard you need, please ask us for assistance.

How to locate a copy of a specific standard

Major sets in the Engineering Library:

For more options, see our selected list of Standards at UC Berkeley.

How to find an applicable standard by subject

Getting a copy of a standard not in the UC Berkeley libraries

If you are a UC Berkeley engineering student or faculty member and need a standard that is not in the Library's collection, please talk to us about appropriate options. An Interlibrary Loan might be best or we might acquire a copy for the library's collection. You can ask at the Engineering Library's Reference Desk or via e-mail.

Learn more about standards

For background information on standards in general, see the FAQs on the World Standards Services Network. This site also links to the websites of many standards organizations.

Page owner: Lisa Ngo