OPT310/311 - Optical Engineering - Standards

Simply put, a standard is an agreed-upon way of doing something. In practice, it is a document that sets specific guidelines for the design, operation, manufacture, and use of nearly everything produced by mankind. There are standards to protect human health, safety, and the environment, and others to ensure that different products work compatibly together. Developed by groups of engineers and other experts, voluntary standards are the result of cooperation between technical professionals, companies, industry groups, and government and consumer representatives. They represent the combined expertise of those who have a stake in the technology, working to agree upon requirements and best practices. Standards are published by organizations that are most relevant to their fields of research and activity.

Tips for Finding Print Standards in Carlson Library.

1. Search Articles, Books & More. (Library Homepage)
2. Go to Advanced Search
3. Enter title of the standard in title field. ex. "American National Standard for safe use of lasers" 
4. Select Exact Match. Then, search.
5. Too many results? Try one of these revisions (not all at once)
   1. Add Author = spelled out version of the standard provider name ex. American National Standards Institute
   2. Add publication year range ex. 1992-1994
   3. Limit subject terms to those with "standards" in them
6. Too Few Results?
   1. Remove title and search a prominent keyword in "all fields" in combination with author spelled out  ex. keyword= piping AND Author =American Society of Mechanical Engineers

To identify standard titles and numbers for searching and ordering, try:

Stores that represent many standards providers (aggregators):

Stores for Individual Standard Providers: