Expanded Access to Technical Standards at Leddy Library

Leddy Library is pleased to announce an exciting enhancement to how faculty, researchers, and students can access technical standards. Responding to feedback from the spring engineering faculty survey, the library has expanded and streamlined standards access, making it broader, faster, and more user-friendly than ever.

What’s New

• New Technical Standards Research Guide
  A comprehensive research guide is now available to help you look for technical standards. It includes links to all standards collections, instructions for access, background information (purpose of standards, naming conventions, authorship), and details on purchase requests.

• Comprehensive Access
  Full digital access is available to standards from ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), providing coverage across a wide range of engineering and scientific disciplines.

• Expanded Access Pilot (1 Year)
  Through a new partnership, the Leddy Library now offers access to all ISO (International Organization for Standardization), EN (European Norms), and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standards adopted by the Spanish Association for Standardization (UNE). This pilot broadens access to global standards for one year, with usage and demand being closely monitored.

• Ad-hoc access via Nimonik
  Need a standard that is not included above? The library can fulfill ad hoc requests digitally through Nimonik. Faculty, researchers, and students are encouraged to contact Roger Reka directly for assistance.

Why This Matters

Acquiring standards is often a complex and costly process, complicated by restrictive licensing terms. Despite these challenges, Leddy Library successfully championed a cross-institutional effort to secure the expanded access pilot, a significant step toward more equitable and timely access to important technical information.

Looking Ahead

The library will monitor the pilot over the coming year to assess usage and identify future opportunities for expanding standards access. If you have any questions or would like help locating a specific standard, please contact Roger Reka, collections librarian for the sciences and engineering.