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Resources for alumni (Physical Sciences & Engineering): Find standards

Find standards

  • ASTM – Annual Book of American Society for Testing and Materials Standards
    • ASTM Catalog: search the catalogue to find the volume number in which a standard can be found
    • 2016 print edition of the ASTM standards can be found on the main level of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library - Reference Collection, call number: TA 401 A653
  • BNQ Catalogue – lists standards from the Bureau de normalisation du Québec
  • CGSB – Canadian General Standards Board
    • CGSB Catalogue
    • Schulich Library has the CGSB standards in print on the 5th floor (room 513), call number: TA368 C342, latest date received: Feb. 2011
  • CSA Group – CSA is the Canadian Standards Association
  • IHS Store – lists standards in its catalogue from all over the world
  • ISO Standards Catalogue – lists standards from the International Organization for Standardization

Standards Trivia

Sixteen ASTM standards, just about rubber, were created in the 1920s to meet the demands of automobile manufacturers, who began mass-producing cars during that period.  About 285 active ASTM automotive standards currently exist today.

How many active ASTM automotive standards do you think will exist in 2066?
1000: 8 votes (42.11%)
400: 5 votes (26.32%)
550: 1 votes (5.26%)
850: 5 votes (26.32%)
Total Votes: 19

About standards

Standards describe procedures for making, measuring, and testing materials and products, are created by different organizations around the world, and can be as short as one-page long.  The topic of a standard can also be a protocol, a definition, etc.

Standards are developed by a consensus of stakeholders.  Stakeholders are all parties with an interest in making the topic of the standard work.

  • In the case of a product, a football helmet for example, the stakeholders who would be interested in making sure the football helmet is made properly would include:
    • i) the producers of the materials needed to make the football helmet,
    • ii) the companies who make the football helmets and sell them, and
    • iii) the consumers who buy and use the football helmets.

Representatives from all parties have to come together to create and approve a standard before it is accepted for publication.

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