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The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the relaxation of mark-to-market (MTM) standards on community banks’ share prices. Mark-to-market valuation of securities became increasingly common in the late 1990s and 2000s, as regulators sought to create more transparent and more current depictions of bank financial positions. However, MTM accounting may be sub-optimal in the presence of severe market frictions, such as those experienced during the financial crisis of the late 2000s. To comply with capital requirements associated with MTM accounting, banks of the late 2000s dramatically liquidated portfolios with potentially solvent assets in illiquid markets, taking huge losses. During the financial crisis, mortgage-backed securities held by banks began to plummet in value. Banks were forced to either liquidate these assets even though there were no buyers or dramatically reduce the values of their portfolios based on fire-sale prices. On a cash-flow basis, these securities had value, as many mortgages bundled in these securities continued to be paid on time; however, with markets frozen, market prices did not reflect this value.

This study shows that, for a sample of 134 community banks, share prices increased after the MTM relaxation, even after accounting for a variety of other economic factors.

This paper shows that, perhaps counterintuitively, the steps taken by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to relax MTM accounting standards may have acted as a stabilizing factor on the market price of community bank shares by allowing banks to selectively liquidate assets, boosting asset prices until uncertainty was resolved.

This paper examines the impact of recent changes in accounting standards on the perceived risks associated with the banking sector. It specifically focuses attention on the impacts these changes had on community-based banks within the USA.

Electronic journals dominate the field of academic literature, and it is of great importance to the international scientific community that this electronic intellectual output remains accessible in perpetuity. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the policy and ambitions of the National Library of The Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB) regarding digital archiving of electronic publications.

This article discusses three possible threats against permanent access, and proposes a coordinated and systematic approach to address these risks: the safe places network. This paper also includes a comprehensive overview of the e‐Depot system and the KB approaches to digital preservation.

The KB e‐Depot has been operational for more than three years, and fulfils the most important requirements.

The KB focuses on both migration and emulation as preservation strategies Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need for collaboration.

The purpose of this paper is to find out the level of awareness and use of e‐journals by the researchers of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) – both central universities funded by the University Grants Commission.

A well‐structured questionnaire is administered to the research scholars of the AMU and BHU to collect data regarding the use of e‐journals.

The survey reveals that most of the research scholars are aware of the availability of e‐journals and largely use them for reference purposes in their research work. They fully agree that with the usage of e‐journal the quality of research work improves with enrichment of appurtenant contents and materials leading to high‐quality manuscript. It is however found that lack of training is the obstacle in proper and full utilization of e‐journals.

The present paper consists only of e‐journal users and the geographical area is restricted to AMU, Aligarh and BHU, Varanasi. The scope of the paper can be extended to additional centrally funded universities. An intra‐comparative study could also be made between some select central and state universities for users of e‐journal.

There are a number of studies on the use of e‐journals, but this is the first of its kind within Indian central universities. As such, it should pave the way for research in other Indian universities as well as elsewhere.

The significance of literature in nation-building in two “second generation” nations, Germany and Norway, is discussed. In both countries a specific national literature was constituted parallel to the political institutions during the latter half of the 19th century. Yet there are clear differences in political effects in the two cases. In Norway, the struggle for national independence up to 1905 entailed a significant democratization of society. Germany, in the wake of the revolution of 1848, developed into a politically authoritarian regime, fully established under Prussian leadership in 1871.

These processes are mirrored in the position of literature. In Norway, where artistic traditions were absent, the national literature was a product of the 19th century, and emerged in close connection to ongoing political debates. In Germany, the Weimar heritage had gained classical status during the 1850s. Thus, the problem was foremost that of redefining the spiritual heritage to fit the history of the German Reich.

A related difference is found in the diffusion of literature through its most important channel – the school system. Norway developed a modern, uniform school, where the nation’s new literature was accorded a central place. In Germany, a more class-based school system was cemented, and the idea of diffusing the cultural heritage to the population at large held a weak position.

Along with these institutional factors, the development of national literatures in the two countries is seen in the light of regional specificities, constellations of literary genres with high and low prestige, and the social and political position of writers.