A standard is an officially approved specification covers requirements for the properties, dimensions, performance, qualities and testing of products and services. Standards are particularly useful for methods of analysis.
A patent is a legal right which, when granted, gives the patentee (the applicant for the patent) a monopoly to make, use or sell the invention within a jurisdiction (or jurisdictions) for a fixed period of time. The patent is granted in return for full disclosure of the details of the invention.
The Library does not hold any patents, although the FSTA (Food Science and Technology Abstracts) database includes references to food-related patents.
For more information see our guide to finding patents:
Legal information and legislation is increasingly accessible online. For UK legislation the two key databases are:
For legislation from other countries try:
For more detailed information on finding legislation consult the Law guide:
Conference papers are published in a variety of ways - they may be published as a book, or as a special issue or supplement to a journal. Some may not be published at all!
If published promptly they can you give you the latest information on research in your field.
See our guide to finding conference papers for details of specialist sources for finding this type of information:
Reading University theses and dissertations
The Library receives a copy of all theses accepted for the degrees of PhD and MPhil by the University. All theses held by the Library can be found on the Enterprise catalogue. Recently submitted theses might also be available to download from the University's Institutional Repository, CentAUR.
Masters theses can usually be consulted in the relevant school or department.
Finding theses from other institutions
There are a number of specialist sources for finding theses produced at other institutions around the world. Many more are becoming available online making it much easier to get the full-text. For more information see our guide to finding theses.
See our guide to finding theses for more information:
The University’s Special Collections are available to all students in the University. The collections include rare books, manuscripts, records, letters, photographs, maps and drawings. Use the search box below to find specific items on the Enterprise catalogue.
The Special Collections Service is based on the London Road campus, in the same building as the Museum of English Rural Life. Items from the Special Collections cannot be borrowed, but they can be consulted in the reading room. You’re advised to plan ahead and contact Special Collections prior to your visit, so that we can have the material ready for you for when you arrive.
The following collections are relevant to students of food and nutritional sciences: