[sfall]

I only commented on NFPA b/c that is the heart of what I use in Fire Protection.

NFPA does allow you to access many of the current standards for free online.

I know in my hometown library they keep a copy of the current adopted additions on hand as a way to have it published, but how often is it used by people outside of their job duties. Being that I would expect very few people not involved in contruction or design would pick up a standard. Same way how open source code is not something you expect to be read by people who have no professional interest in the process.

Lastly NFPA current edition of NFPA 13 for fire sprinkler systems is approx $80. And very few other codes that would be required to operate as a fire sprinkler contractor (to clarify I know some contractors that have only NFPA13 in their office and other that have the whole set but both can properly operate).