About Standards

Standards are officially approved criteria designed to ensure that products and services meet minimum thresholds. They cover areas such as:

• Quality
• Performance
• Design
• Safety
• Environmental impact

The Library holds Irish standards (see our list of printed Irish standards) as well as subscriptions to British Standards Online and IEEE Standards.

Searching for standards online

The two main databases available to UCD for searching for standards are British Standards Online and the IEEE Explore standards collection.

You can access both of these titles through findit @UCD Library, our online collection search interface, and we have a detailed guide to help you to use these standards databases.

Irish Standards (IS)

Indigenous Irish standards are held. These unique Irish standards are available in the James Joyce Library.  Please ask at the Information Desk on Level 2 to access them.

Architectural Standards are held in the Richview Library.

Civil Engineering standards are held on Level 3 of the James Joyce Library.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) has further information on Irish Standards and a full set on request. Apply to:

• NSAI, 1 Swift Square, Northwood, Santry, Dublin 9.
• Tel: +353 (0)1 807 3800
• Email: nsai@nsai.ie

Many Irish Standards are adapted from British, European or international standards and can be found in British Standards Online.

Standards Organisations

National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)

British Standards Institution (BSI)

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

ASTM International (American Society for Testing and Materials)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Deutsches Institut fur Normung e. V. (DIN)