PurposeThe aim of this study is to contribute to extended knowledge about the role of standardization of university library operations and its consequences.Design/methodology/approachThis research employs a practice-theoretically oriented analysis method with a focus on documents. The Chilean standards for university libraries, which are in focus, are conceptualised as a site that encompasses those who drafted them and librarians who are expected to follow them. The study can be termed a document ethnography, which in this case includes the methods of interviewing and document analysis.FindingsWhereas commonalities among libraries are in focus for the drafters, librarians are foregrounding context-related particularities and local practices. This results in a collision between different purposes and interests regarding how to use standards. The librarians perceive that standards are primarily intended for management and that they provide little support for everyday work. In accordance, to librarians, the work done by people in managerial positions regarding standards often seems opaque or obscured. Furthermore, for librarians, even though standards are ubiquitous, they are not visible in the daily work.Originality/valueThe document ethnography as a research approach is drawn from the field of science and technology studies and has not previously been used in library research. Standards for university libraries have not been studied in this way before, either in Chile or elsewhere. The study has contributed to making "the dark sides of standards" within the Chilean academic library landscape visible.