A tool to empower people in Assam's rural areas now faces serious threats as a result of Government apathy and public disinterest. The overall scene of rural libraries in the State is bleak with only a few having proper infrastructure, funds and personnel. In some libraries books are scarce or old, in others furniture and cabinets are in disarray. While in a few others there are simply no readers! Barring a few, most rural libraries would do well with an infusion of funds and better support from the Government and local communities. A well-placed official source told The Assam Tribune, "Both the Government and local groups need to have better co-operation in reviving the rural library network because they serve a population for which avenues of acquiring information are limited. Those libraries have immense potential to shape generations.' At present Assam has a total of 192 rural libraries spread across all its districts. Their number is highest in Barpeta district (17) and lowest in Dhemaji district (2). For several years no new rural library has come under the network where the Government provides very limited funds for two persons serving the libraries. To indicate the kind of funds available to the libraries, the Government provided a mere Rs 95,000 to the libraries to purchase newspapers and journals last year. In another gesture it made available some furniture and tube-well sets to a number of libraries. Cricket and volleyball kits were also provided to many of them. However, the number of books made available to rural libraries with Government funds has been meagre to say the least. Of significance is the fact that the bulk of the books in rural libraries are procured by local society or group. The other unfortunate fact is local people have absolutely no say over what kind of books are sent by the district libraries. Even those libraries, which have a sizeable number of books, face a serious handicap. Many of their books and journals are outdated, thus limiting their impact on readers in an increasingly fast changing world. Official sources hinted that the Government is aware of the state of rural libraries, but there exists a lack of political will to develop a strategy to revive this important public service. Here it is worth mentioning that rural libraries came to gain their present status after the Government had recognised around 200 libraries in rural areas, which were more than three years old and had more than five hundred books each.