Grainger Graduate Assistant STEM Information Literacy Training

Leachman, C., et al. Teaching and Collecting Technical Standards: A Handbook for Librarians and Educators. 

Standards are the technical definitions and guidelines, or the "how to" instructions, for designers, manufacturers and users. Standards are used to ensure that designers can produce consistent, uniform, and safe results. Standards are created by standards developing organizations (SDOs) (AKA Standard Issuing Bodies) for their respective fields. You can find standards in multiple fields, including engineering, science, technology, health care, amongst others. They impact multiple aspects of the design process, such as:

• Ensuring that items are interoperable and uniform in manufacturing.
• Ensuring that tests and assessments are conducted in a reliable and replicable manner.
• Ensuring that facilities, buildings and machines are safe for operation.

There are also multiple types of standards that exist, such as:

• De facto: Standards that are generally adopted and market dominated, such as the QWERTY keyboard. 
• De jure: Standards that are developed by a group of experts in a field and are passed once consensus is reached. Also called consensus standards.
  • Limited consensus standards are those used internally by a company, while general consensus standards are adopted across an industry.
• Mandatory: De jure standards that are set or adopted by a governing body, either by procurement or regulation. Voluntarily developed standards can become mandatory if they are referred to in local, regional, or national law. 
• Voluntary: De jure standards that are developed and complied by choice. 
• Local, Regional, National, and International: Standards that have been adopted at various levels, including on multiple levels. 
• Codes: an industry, government, or voluntary standard or standards that have been adopted into law or included in a business contract. 
• Regulations: legally binding documents that are adopted by a governing body.
• Measurement: Standards that represent a fundamental system of measurement for time, weight, length, temperature in volume. 
• Documentary: Standards that contain technical specifications or precise criteria such as rules, guidelines, or definitions of characteristics.

Different types of standards are developed in various ways. We will cover several types of standard development.

Voluntary Consensus Standard Development

Standards-setting bodies — such as SDOs like ASTM International, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), or the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) — create their standards through the consensus of industry experts. These experts come from  academia, industry, government, non-governmental organizations, and more. Each SDO has a different process for developing their standards, but their processes follow a similar format.

1. An idea for a new standard is brought forth to be developed.
2. A draft of the standard is developed by the SDO, which is then sent to stakeholders and other experts for them to give feedback and edits.
3. The draft is edited based upon the input provided by stakeholders, and then a final draft is presented to the technical experts for a final judgement. 
4. The standard is then published and updated as necessary.

SDOs follow style guides, which ensure that all standards published follow similar content outlines. This style guide can be found through searching for the SDO's name alongside "style guide". 

De facto and mandatory standards are developed differently from voluntary consensus standards. De facto standards are created through trade and industry groups, and have no formal process of gathering consensus during development; instead, these standards are widely accepted amongst their industry and are not required to be followed by any law. Mandatory standards, on the other hand, are made mandatory by being  law or regulation, and can be developed either as a consensus standard and then written into law, or created through being written into law. In the U.S., most standards are voluntary unless they are written into a law or regulation under the federal, state, county, or city through a law or regulation. 

Development of Standards Outside the U.S.

European SDOs — such as the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), and European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ESTI) —drive the development of standards through the European Union (EU). Their process for standards development is similar to that of the voluntary consensus standards, consisting of stages of proposal, drafting, presentation for public comments, and formal vote. Individual countries within the EU also have their own national standards bodies (NSBs) that work to ensure that identical standards developed by the EU's SDOs are transposed onto national ones, and contradictory standards are withdrawn. 

In China, standards are developed by the Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China (SAC). SAC was created to deliver national standards plans; approve and publish standards; and deliberate and release documentation like standards policies, administrative rules, programs, and announcements. They also coordinate and supervise standards development concerning industry, local areas, organizations and enterprises. SAC also works with international SDOs like ISO to ensure cooperation and coordination. China has a focus on developing standards for emerging industries, as standards are seen as a tool for supporting those industries. 

In South Korea, standardization largely happens through the legislative process due to the Standardization Act of 1961. The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) is the government agency responsible for standards development, as well as education about standards from elementary school to university. 

In Australia, standards are either developed through Standards Australia or collaboration between Australia and New Zealand Standards. Standards Australia has detailed their own process for standards development, including a public comment period and a ballot vote by the Standards Development and Accreditation Committee (SDAC). Similar to the U.S., standards are voluntary unless written into a law or regulation. However, it is also common for only portions of standards to become mandatory when written into law. 

Students in engineering programs should graduate with a basic understanding of standards, such as the standardization process, impact of standards, how standards are beneficial globally, be familiar with key standards developing organizations, and be able to identify key standards and use them in their design process. Librarians and faculty should work together to teach this literacy to engineering students throughout their education, while giving students the ability to practice these skills in an applied manner. As mentioned before in other sessions, this can be difficult due to limited class time, the way in which engineering curricula emphasize heavily on technical instruction, and limited access to standards because of high costs. You will typically see instruction or incorporation of standards during their capstone and senior design courses, and many students do not receive formal introduction to standards earlier within their academic career.  This is why we emphasize trying to work with instructors when possible to understand when and where standards are introduced, and working with them to incorporate standards instruction when possible. 

Online tutorials are a useful tool for integration of standards literacy within the curriculum, particularly as modules within Course Management Systems. "Standards Are Everywhere", a tutorial created by faculty of Purdue University and funded by NIST, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, provides a baseline introduction to standards literacy. 

The information literacy needs and instruction of standards is best done through a scaffolded approach as students progress through their curriculum. Standards are generally voluntary in the United States, but they ensure products and designs produced are universal and safe to use, which is why it is important for students to learn how to use them. As a librarian, this typically looks like talking to faculty and instructors regarding opportunities for course-integrated learning experiences. Assessment for finding, retrieving, and utilizing standards usually occurs during students' capstone courses. 

You may find yourself guiding students on discovery, retrieving, and utilizing standards during a capstone course's library instruction, so we will focus on those steps. 

Discovery and Retrieval

Standards are best utilized when gathered during the research phase of the design process, though like other prior art, designers may often come back to the research phase when new information is presented to them. During the research phase, students should be talking to stakeholders of the design to get an understanding of requirements needed. Additionally, identifying standards early as possible helps to save cost and time. 

There are various pathways to searching for and identifying standards for a design project. One such method is to talk to stakeholders and experienced professionals about the design. Some design teams may be working with faculty or stakeholders who have knowledge on what standards need to be met during the design. 

Students may also want to look at different government agencies to identify applicable regulations, codes, and standards. The Code of Federal Regulations lists all government regulations adopted in the United States, while the National Institute of Technology (NIT) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have comprehensive lists of standards that are issued or adopted by federal agencies. Different government agencies also have their own regulations, like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Students should consider the applicability of international standards, as relevant to their project. In this case, identifying international SDOs relevant to their disipline may be as simple as searching the online catalog of International Organization of Standards (ISO) or other international SDOs such as International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), or the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

We also recommend students look at third party standards stores, like the ones we list in the "Finding Standards Names" section of our Standards Library Guide. These stores are free to search, and usually contain a brief description of the standard to help designers understand how useful a given standard may be. Additionally, Grainger Library has a "purchase on demand" collection development policy. We will purchase any standard upon request by an affiliated patron. Many universities will have fewer resources and more constrained collection development policies. Standards are expensive. Ensure that the standard is needed by a patron when requested, prior to purchasing. 

We also recommend incorporating standards discovery and retrieval instruction as early as possible in a given semester. Standards typically take on the order of weeks to arrive if purchased in print.  Introducing students to standards searching early in the semester gives them lead time in case they need the library to purchase a standard for them.

Accessing Standards

Access  is a challenge for most standards users, regardless of the standard that they've found. Many students will follow novice information literacy searches in Google search or online to find the standard. This method can be useful in the case of mandatory (government mandated) standards, but for most, it will lead to vendors that ask patrons to purchase standards themselves. Many standards cost hundreds of dollars. It is cost-prohibitive for individuals to purchase them.  It is difficult to search for standards through local libraries, as many libraries do not catalog their physical standards. Therefore, some groups may have to look through their library's physical collection of standards instead of using searchable databases. 

Some libraries may  access to standards digitally through databases, like the ones listed on our Standards Library Guide. This is the preferred method for digital standards, as purchasing a PDF file of a standard for a library is complicated due to digital rights management and licensing issues. 

Some standards give free read-only or limited access to their standards. NIST has a list of these organizations. 

Using Standards for Design Projects

Students use standards, amongst other prior art they have found to influence their conceptual design. Standards use specific jargon related to their field, so it is important that students have an understanding of technical language before reading standards. Understanding the typical format of a standard can help researchers find key information more easily. A standard's format is usually as follows:

• Title and Name: A standard's name is structured by its issuing SDO, a number, and a date. This date specifies the year the standard was published or last updated. An example standard name is ISO 10096:1997. 
• Foreword: this section describes the content of the standard and how the standard was developed.
• Introduction: this section provides information or commentary about the technical content of the document. This section is optional.
• Scope: similar to an abstract, this section provides a succinct statement about the document's purpose. This includes what the document does, the subject of the document, and aspects covered. This section can help the researcher determine the applicability of the standard or parts of it.
• Normative references: this section lists the referenced standards, where some or all of the content sets up the requirements of the document. More information on how these references apply is found where they are cited within the document.
• Terms and definitions: this section provides definitions as necessary for understanding terms used within the standard.
• Clauses and subclauses: this section discusses the basic components of the content, such as what needs to be implemented.

Many libraries don't have policies in place for standards collection, or funds set aside specifically for the purchase of standards. Academic libraries  have historically had difficulties with cataloging their standards and making them discoverable, as cataloging grey literature is complex compared to more traditional academic literature.

Grainger Engineering Library Information Center is unique in that we do have an actively updated standards collection with a collection development policy and funds set aside for purchasing them. 

While there is no standard collection development policy for standards across all libraries, there are a few typical models for purchasing them. Many libraries often will combine these models based upon the resources they have and the demand from patrons. 

• Purchasing print standards was the original and is still a common way for collecting standards. Different SDOs may offer packages or volumes for purchasing standards in bulk, which can make it easier to collect them, as standards can range in length. Collecting print standards does have it's drawbacks, as physical space and upkeep of these unique collections. However, one benefit to them is that they're much more accessible than some other methods.
• Purchasing standards through subscriptions to electronic databases is another common method. Various SDOs like IEEE, ASTM, and ASME have their own online portals that libraries can subscribe to for certain fees. This comes with the benefit of having the most up-to-date versions of standards, and not having to continually purchase standards as they update. Some SDOs, like ASTM Compass, also allow patrons to view historical standards, which can be useful for some researchers.
• Purchasing PDFs for electronic standards is another method. However, this can be less favorable, as standards purchased as PDFs are locked to one device, and therefore patrons cannot easily access the standards they need. This differs from subscription based services, which allows patrons to view digital standards with ease. 

For this week, work as a group. Explore one of the following topics as a group. Be prepared to discuss how this information impacts your instruction or professional practice. 

• Identify one or more standards that are applicable to library services. What are the standard developing organizations that publish them? What are the stated goals of those standards? What are the implications for day to day library practice?

• Identify one or more standards that are applicable to higher education. What are the standard developing organization that publish them? What are the stated goals of those standards? What are the implications for operations of a higher education institution?

• Pick a discipline that you are interested in. It does not have to be limited to STEM disciplines. What are the standard developing organizations that are relevant for that discipline?