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Civil & Environmental Engineering: Standards

A guide to research resources on civil and environmental engineering topics.

Kresge Engineering Library closed until 2025

The Kresge Engineering Library is temporarily closed due to the Bechtel Engineering Center renovation. We plan to re-open in 2025 when the new Engineering Student Center opens its doors.

Read about the closure here.

Questions? Send us a message and one of our engineering librarians will reach out. 

How to find standards

Engineers will often need to locate standards or specifications in the course of their work. A standard is a document

established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context (definition from the ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004).

Standards may be developed by a variety of groups, such as government agencies, technical or trade associations, professional societies or associations, or international or national organizations.

Copies of standards can be difficult to locate. The Engineering Library owns some in print and online, and these are findable in UC Library Search. 

If you do not find the standard you need, please ask us for assistance.

UC Berkeley faculty, graduate students and research staff may request individual standards not currently owned by the library. Contact the Engineering Library for more information. 

Standards at UC Berkeley

This is a selective list. To find additional standards or to find the most up-to-date library copy, please search in UC Library Search or contact us.

  • Aluminum Association (AA). Aluminum Design Manual.
    Available online via Techstreet Enterprise. UCB access only. 
  • American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). AASHTO specifications.
    Available online via Techstreet Enterprise. UCB access only.
  • American Concrete Institute (ACI). ACI collection of concrete codes, specifications, and practices (formerly ACI manual of concrete practice).
    TA680.A27 Engineering Library - latest edition in Reference
  • American Institute of Steel Construction.
    • Manual of steel construction: allowable stress design, 9th ed. rev., 1991.
      TA684.A6 1991 Environmental Design Library - Reference
    • Steel construction manual, 14th ed., 2011.
      TA684.A47 2011 Engineering Library - Reserves
    • Manual of steel construction: load and resistance factor design, 2001.
      TA684 .L558 2001 Engineering Library - Reserves
  • American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI standards.
    Selected titles available in various libraries - search UC Library Search.
  • American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Annual book of ASTM standards. Current and Redline.
    Online via ASTM Standards Online. UCB access only.
  • American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE). ASAE standards.
    Titles available online via ASAE Technical Library. UCB access only.
  • American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). ASHRAE standards.
    Current and redline standards available online via Techstreet Enterprise. UCB access only. 
  • American Water Works Association (AWWA). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater.
    QD142.A6 Engineering Library - Reserve
  • Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute. Manual of standard practice.
    TA683.42.C64 v.28 Engineering Library
     
  • National Information Standards Organization (NISO).

Below is a list of California Building Codes in the UC Berkeley Libraries. For national and international building codes, see our Standards guide. 

  • International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). 
    Selected titles available in print in various libraries - search UC Library Search.
    Selected standards available online via Techstreet Enterprise. UCB access only. 
  • International Organization for Standardization (ISO). International standards.
    Available online via ASTM Digital Library. UCB access only.
    Selected titles available in print in various libraries - search UC Library Search.