LibGuides: Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction: Finding Standards & Building Codes

Welcome!

UNLV Libraries provides access to a variety of standards documents to our researchers and students. Some sets are available to the public. On this guide you will also find information for instructors, students, and researchers interested in the standards publication process. If you have questions, please email Sue Wainscott, Engineering Librarian, at Sue.Wainscott@unlv.edu.

Request a standards document through UNLV's Library
UNLV students and employees may request the full text of standards documents through the UNLV Libraries using the process on this page.
FileOpen for standards and other documents with Digital Rights Management (DRM) limits
The publishers of some standards and other documents add protective software to the pdf files, aka Digital Rights Management or DRM. Often, the FileOpen add on software is required to open those pdf files.

Locating engineering standards

Learn How To Find Standards - from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology
Locating relevant standards documents can be more challenging than a regular search for literature and information. NIST provides some good tips for how to get started on this webpage.

Not sure which standards apply to your project? Try browsing the International Classification for Standards using the link below.

International Classification for Standards
You can locate the International Classification for Standards code for your area of interest, and use that numeric code in the advanced search tools to search for relevant standards. Try this in Engineering Workbench, and remember to include all the SDOs in your advanced search. Note that not all standards will be tied to a classification code, so don't use only this search technique.

The below databases and webpages provide access to standards documents in Engineering and other fields.

Engineering Workbench by Accuris
UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search for applicable standards and to view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
AISC American Institute of Steel Construction
All of AISC's current standards are available as free downloads to the public in PDF format.
ANS American Nuclear Society Standards
This set and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
ANSI Read-Only access to selected standards
"The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Incorporated by Reference (IBR) Portal provides a one-stop mechanism for access to standards that have been incorporated by reference in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). These standards incorporated by the U.S. government in rulemakings are offered at no cost in “read only” format and are presented for online reading. There are no print or download options."
ASHRAE Read-Only versions of selected standards
ASHRAE provides online, read-only access to popular standards and many standards that are incorporated by reference into laws or code.
ASSIST U.S. Department of Defense Standards Quick Search
Search for and access .pdf files for Department of Defense standards and specification documents that have been cleared for public access.
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ASSIST stands for Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System. See http://www.dsp.dla.mil/Specs-Standards/ for more information.

ASTM Compass/Digital Library This link opens in a new window
ASTM (formerly American Society for Testing and Materials) database contains the full text of standards, journal articles, handbooks, manuals and other e-books published by ASTM. You can also see many historical versions of ASTM standards with redlines showing changes.

ASTM Annual book of standards
Call Number: Lied Library 5th floor TA401 .A653
Publication Date: 2002, 2004
This historic set of ASTM standards is available in printed book format.
ASTM Annual book of standards
Call Number: Architecture Studies Library Architecture Reference TA401 .A653
Publication Date: 2004
This historic set of ASTM standards is available in printed book format.

ESTA Entertainment Services and Technology Association, Technical Standards Program
Free to download. "The ESTA Technical Standards Program is the only ANSI-accredited standards program dedicated to the needs of the entertainment technology industry. The standards created under the TSP are used directly or indirectly every day by almost every manufacturer, dealer, installer, production company and end user."

IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new window
Locate IEEE standards documents, articles and conference papers published by the IEEE societies.
Provides access to almost a third of the world's current electrical engineering, telecommunications, power, and computer science literature. Full-text access to all IEEE journals, transactions, magazines, conference proceedings, and all current IEEE standards.

International Codes for building safety and fire prevention
The non-profit International Code Council (ICC) provides free access to building safety and fire prevention codes and standards that are used by many government agencies.
ISO International Standards Organization Read Only Standards Incorporated by Reference
"In accordance with ISO/IEC JTC 1 and the ISO and IEC Councils, these International Standards are publicly available for Standardization purposes."
NATO Standardization Document Database (NSDD)
Publically available, current, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standards documents may be downloaded from this website. Available in English and French.
NFPA National Fire Protection Association - Read Only Standards Access
"As part of its commitment to enhancing public safety, NFPA makes its codes and standards available online to the public for free. Online access to NFPA's consensus documents conveniently places important safety information on the desktops of traditional users as well as others who have a keen interest. NFPA is committed to serving the public's increasing interest in technical information, and online access to these key codes is a valuable resource." Note: Due to licensing restrictions, we cannot provide a pdf version of these documents, so this free, online, view only option is how to get them!

SAE MOBILUS This link opens in a new window
Search within SAE International publications and media including the complete sets of SAE Automotive and Aerospace standards documents, 13 scholarly journals, over 140,000 additional peer-reviewed technical papers, industry magazines, e-books, and more.

SUDAS, the Iowa Statewide Urban Design and Specifications
"SUDAS (pronounced “soo’dahs”) is short for Statewide Urban Design and Specifications. The Institute for Transportation at Iowa State University maintains Iowa’s SUDAS manuals for public improvements. Developing and maintaining Iowa’s unique SUDAS manuals is the result of a lengthy and painstaking effort by more than 300 stakeholders across the state." This resource is helpful for learning about the constraints for many public works and construction projects.
U.S. Department of Defense ASSIST Standards Quick Search
Search for and access .pdf files for Department of Defense standards and specification documents that have been cleared for public access.
more...less...
ASSIST stands for Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System. See http://www.dsp.dla.mil/Specs-Standards/ for more information.

Locating standards for topics beyond engineering

Accounting Standards
This guide provides information about standards in the field of Accounting.
Education Standards
This webpage provides information about U.S. K-12 educational / curriculum standards.
NWCCU Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Accreditation Standards
"NWCCU provides institutional accreditation for public and private institutions of higher education, including Tribal and Faith-Based, throughout the United States and internationally."
Metadata Standards
This webpage provides a searchable directory of metadata standards for research data sets, in a wide variety of disciplines.

Standards developing organizations

Directory of standards developing organizations, by ANSI
The American National Standards Institute provides a searchable directory of standards developing organizations (SDOs) that meet basic qualifications. This directory can assist you in selecting an organization to search for committees that may be drafting or updating standards that are relevant to your project.

ANSI offers a variety of educational resources about standards. Includes resources for K-12+ and professional development.

IEEE offers Learn about the standards development lifecycle.

International Classification for Standards
Learn about the International Classification for Standards documents, used to organize international, regional, and national standards within libraries and search tools.

Additional standards in the library collection, print and e-formats

AASHTO GDHS-7 Green Book - A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 7th Edition, Includes October 2019 Errata by American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials
Call Number: online
ISBN: 9781560516767
Publication Date: 2017
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
AASHTO LRFDBDS-9 Bridge Design Specifications, 9th Edition by American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
Call Number: online
ISBN: 9781560517382
Publication Date: 2020
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
ACI CODE-350-20 Code Requirements for Environmental Engineering Concrete Structures (ACI 350-20) and Commentary (ACI 350R-20), Includes Errata (2022) by American Concrete Institute
Call Number: online
Publication Date: 2020 and historical versions
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
APHA/AWWA Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater by American Public Heal Association & American Water Works Association
Call Number: Lied Library, Circulation Reserves Z00 & Lied Library QD142 .A5
While not a technical standards document, this manual may be useful for wastewater projects, and is included here because of its title.
ASCE/SEI 7-05 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures by Structural Engineering Institute Staff (Contribution by); American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Staff
Call Number: online and TH851 .M56 2006 Architecture Studies Library
ISBN: 0784408092
Publication Date: 2006-01-01
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
ASCE/SEI 7-16 Minimum design loads and associated criteria for buildings and other structures by American Society of Civil Engineers
Call Number: online
ISBN: 9780784479964
Publication Date: 2017
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
ASME boiler and pressure vessel code
Call Number: Lied Library 5th Floor Oversize TJ290 .A83x
Publication Date: 1995 ed. updated through 1997
More recent edition sections may be requested using the process on this webage: https://guides.library.unlv.edu/standards/request
ISO 4413 Hydraulic fluid power — General rules and safety requirements for systems and their components by ISO
Call Number: online
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
NACE TM0198 Slow Strain Rate Test Method for Screening Corrosion-Resistant Alloys for Stress Corrosion Cracking in Sour Oilfield Service
Call Number: online
ISBN: 1575900513
Publication Date: 2020
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.
UL 1363 Safety Relocatable Power Taps by UL Solutions (formerly Underwriters Laboratory)
Call Number: online
This and other standards/codes/manuals are available within UNLV's Accuris Engineering Workbench subscription. UNLV Students and Employees may use this link to create a user account with Engineering Workbench to search and view full text of items that UNLV Libraries have already added to our subscription. Use your UNLV email address to create your account.

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction

Welcome!

Locating engineering standards

Not sure which standards apply to your project? Try browsing the International Classification for Standards using the link below.

The below databases and webpages provide access to standards documents in Engineering and other fields.

Locating standards for topics beyond engineering

Standards developing organizations

Additional standards in the library collection, print and e-formats

Locations

Contact