The NIST Office of Standards Services has purchased an NIST-wide license to access ANSI's NSSN - A National Resource for Global Standards via the Internet.

When it first was named, the NSSN: A National Resource for Global Standards was an acronym representing the phrase National Standard Systems Network. As the project developed, and organizations provided data, it became clear that the scope of the service went beyond US national standards. It was recommended that we take the term National out of the name. A survey of users was undertaken, and we found that the acronym had a high degree of recognition. Instead of re-naming the service, we decided to keep the acronym, and add the tag line A National Resource for Global Standards. The NSSN contains information from national, regional, and international standards organizations.

The NSSN provides bibliographic information on U.S. industry and military/federal, international, and foreign standards, both approved and draft. It does not include the actual standard but provides links to the standards developing organizations or designated reseller for ordering information.

The general public may learn about the NSSN at: http://www.nssn.org

The Internet address for NIST staff is:

Further information on the NSSN for NIST staff can be found at:

NIST's subscription includes an alert service which will notify you whenever a change or new development occurs in a specific subject area.

There are only fifty search profiles available to NIST. If you wish to submit a profile, please contact Linde Harr (301-975-2901, harr@nist.gov) for a NIST Standards Alert Service Activation Form. Please return the completed form to Linde by June 10, 1998. All completed forms will be submitted to the NIST Standards Information Program who will administer this alert service. The submissions will be reviewed and you will be notified concerning your profile.

For more information contact, Mike Hogan, Standards Liaison, NIST/ITL, (301-975-2926), or m.hogan@nist.gov.