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Just like everyone else, people with learning disabilities (PWLD) are living longer. This means that there are new considerations to be made by professionals and services working to support them. However, it is also important to remember that PWLD are a broad group of people with differing abilities and needs, and there are many different issues that need to be considered. These considerations are a challenge, which as a society we are only just beginning to recognise and respond to, despite having known that this situation was approaching for more than a decade. In this article I will probably raise more questions than I will answer, but recognising the issues is the first step towards developing a response.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the Future Publishing and Accessibility Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 13-14, 2013.

This report provides a general overview of events at the conference as well as its main topics and outcomes

The report reveals the current challenges facing all involved in providing accessible materials to persons with print disabilities. Not only is the number of titles currently fully accessible an issue, but the digital era and electronic publishing bring their own issues. Speakers each offered their own views on potential solutions

This report provides librarians and researchers with a general summary of the issues surrounding accessibility and the current publishing industry as they were discussed at the conference.

A little over three years ago, Apple introduced a new kind of software called HyperCard. Then, as now, this program defies definition. The users of HyperCard essentially fix the boundaries of the program, making it a database, a graphics catalog, an audio resource, a book, or some combination of all of these categories. Apple, in its latest manuals for the program, calls HyperCard “an ”information tool‐kit,” and in its most creative applications, the program truly lives up to this billing.

Peter Lor’s contributions to library and information science and practice are myriad. This essay focusses on his contributions to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

The essay recalls Lor’s achievements and draws on the author’s experience of working with him during challenging times for IFLA.

Lor’s work and achievements illustrate how the global interconnectedness of the field emerges from and enlivens its local practice and that the global is in turn informed by the local.

As an international Federation of library associations and libraries together with practitioners, IFLA reaches into the majority of the world’s nations. This essay demonstrates how leadership within one nation and at a global level can have far reaching results.

The author was in a unique position as IFLA President-elect and then President when Lor was appointed Secretary General of the Federation. The author viewpoint is that of an insider and a colleague.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise what is known about the health of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The paper aims to update the unpublished review and scoping paper undertaken by Swift for the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities; provide a conceptual framework for understanding the key determinants of the poorer health outcomes experienced by people with ASD; undertake a brief option appraisal of existing sources of data that may be of value in addressing the mortality and morbidity of people with ASD; and establish future research possibilities.

The limited literature suggests higher rates of mortality and morbidity among people with ASD.

A simple conceptual framework for understanding the key determinants of poorer health of people with ASD is proposed. Options for studying the mortality and morbidity in ASD using existing data sources are also appraised and recommendations are made for future research in the area.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the 74th General Conference and Council Meeting of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), which took place on August 10‐14, 2008 in Quebec, Canada. Design/methodology/approach – This is a descriptive report. Findings – The conference discussed libraries without borders: navigating towards global understanding. Originality/value – Will be of interest to library and information professionals.

The significant increase in the number of older adults in the UK population is expected to continue. Physical and psychological problems associated with ageing often require older adults to move into residential care where opportunities to participate in previously enjoyed occupations may be limited. Engagement in self‐selected purposeful activities is positively related to physical and psychological well‐being. This paper aims to focus on some of these issues.

An ethnographic approach, a single case study of one care home in a semi‐rural area of Wales was designed to investigate the balance of occupation of residents. Occupations were observed and recorded using a time‐sampling frame over 12 hours on three consecutive days. Field notes were used to contextualise the data in reflecting the home environment.

The majority spent their time in the lounges and remained passive, interacting infrequently with staff and one another. Little opportunity or intervention has been afforded to residents to encourage or support participation in occupation.

A single case study may not be representative of the experiences of residents in other care homes. Time limited observation over different locations may miss activities. Future research could extend the scope of the study.

Older adults in residential care should be supported to engage in occupations. Employment of occupational therapists could allow support to be individually and appropriately focussed. There are implications for health and social care course design and also for the training of care workers.

The paper illustrates observation of activities in a care home over an extended period.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the commercialisation mechanisms of the innovations that emerge from the informal sector of Indian economy. Also known as grassroots innovations, they are said to better fit with the local market demands and conditions in the developing nations of the world. The paper discusses the grassroots innovation ecosystem in India and the role that is played by the state in providing institutional support.

The paper is based on an exploratory study using both the primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data are taken from the interview of the innovators during the field work, whereas secondary data are acquired from research articles published in various journals indexed in Scopus and web of sciences, government publications and reports. The annual reports of National Innovation Foundation are analysed to gather information and to build the arguments for this paper. The secondary data are also collected and evaluated from the database of the grassroots innovators available on Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network.

The paper provides insight into how the grassroots innovations are commercialised in India through different pathways such as social entrepreneurship, technology transfer and open source technology. It takes four case studies to discuss the institutional support to the grassroots innovator and the challenges in the diffusion of the grassroots innovations.

Due to the chosen research approach, the results cannot be generalised on all grassroots innovations. Researchers are encouraged to conduct a survey of more grassroots innovations in order to derive generalised outputs.

The paper includes implications for understanding the diffusion process of grassroots innovations that can be useful for all the emerging and developing nations.

The paper fulfils an identified need to study the diffusion modes of informal sector innovations and management of grassroots innovations.