Teaching and Collecting Technical Standards: A Handbook for Librarians and Educators

Technical standards are a vital source of information for providing guidelines during the design, manufacture, testing, and use of whole products, materials, and components. To prepare students―especially engineering students―for the workforce, universities are increasing the use of standards within the curriculum. Employers believe it is important for recent university graduates to be familiar with standards. Despite the critical role standards play within academia and the workforce, little information is available on the development of standards information literacy, which includes the ability to understand the standardization process; identify types of standards; and locate, evaluate, and use standards effectively.

Libraries and librarians are a critical part of standards education, and much of the discussion has been focused on the curation of standards within libraries. However, librarians also have substantial experience in developing and teaching standards information literacy curriculum. With the need for universities to develop a workforce that is well-educated on the use of standards, librarians and course instructors can apply their experiences in information literacy toward teaching students the knowledge and skills regarding standards that they will need to be successful in their field. This title provides background information for librarians on technical standards as well as collection development best practices. It also creates a model for librarians and course instructors to use when building a standards information literacy curriculum.

Chelsea Leachman is a science and engineering librarian at Washington State University. She liaises with biological systems engineering, civil and environmental engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics, mechanical engineering, and materials engineering.

Erin M. Rowley is the head of Science and Engineering Library Services and is the engineering librarian at the University at Buffalo, working with students, faculty, and staff in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Before joining the university, she worked as a corporate research librarian at a consumer products testing laboratory for nearly nine years using standards from around the world on a daily basis.

Margaret Phillips is an engineering information specialist and associate professor in the Purdue University Libraries and School of Information Studies. She is the liaison to the engineering technology, industrial engineering, and nuclear engineering departments, and acts as the standards librarian.

Daniela Solomon is a research and engagement librarian at Case Western Reserve University where she is the liaison to the Case School of Engineering, and manages the on-demand standards service.