Access
10 There are two categories of access for information materials issued by the Organization – unrestricted access and restricted access (i.e. for a restricted audience). It is the responsibility of the assistant director-general or regional director concerned to decide which category is most appropriate and to assign the material accordingly.
20 All WHO publications fall into the category of unrestricted access, as they are freely accessible via the Organization's websites. As of 11 November 2016, all new WHO publications bearing either an International Standard Book Number or a WHO reference number are open access (see sections VIII.2.13 and VIII.6.10). A copy of each publication should be supplied to the Institutional Repository for Information Sharing (see section VIII.5.1) and the link should be included on relevant health topic and departmental internet pages. Such materials may also be sold to increase their visibility and availability (see section VIII.4). When WHO copyright material is published externally, as in the case of a WHO article in an external peer-review journal, the appropriate licence should be used, to ensure that the manuscript can be made freely accessible via the Institutional Repository for Information Sharing (see section VIII.6.3).
30 Materials categorized as "restricted" are those to which full public access is considered inappropriate because the information they contain is preliminary or incomplete, or open to potentially damaging misinterpretation by readers beyond the intended target audience. Such materials are likely to include certain drafts circulated for trial or comment, discussion and working papers, some meeting reports, and documents containing confidential or sensitive information. Materials in this category should meet the minimum criteria for WHO publications (see Information Note 12/2007 and section VIII.2.2) and should contain a statement specifying to whom it is restricted. They should be distributed in print by mail to the members of the target group to which they are limited (no more than 100 persons) or posted on a password-protected internet site, access to which should be restricted to the members of the group. Materials for restricted circulation should not appear on public internet sites and should not be sent by email.
40 Requests to change the category of access are subject to approval by the assistant director-general or the regional director concerned through the clearance and approval procedures in force in the office concerned (see section VIII.1.4).
