Pennsylvania's aging public library buildings, including many of the Carnegie Library's facilities, stand to lose $1.6 million in badly needed repairs as the state Legislature puts finishing touches this week on a new $27.3 billion budget.

Targeted is the Keystone Park and Recreation Fund, a 14-year-old financing operation that largely supports outdoor activities and historic sites. Libraries are allocated 4 percent of its funds -- $4 million in the last fiscal year -- for capital improvements.

A state Senate bill that calls for a transfer of $40 million from the fund to clean up hazardous waste would slice libraries' present share by $1.6 million. Portions of the state realty transfer tax supply Keystone's cash.

The plan "will wreak havoc on building projects statewide," Glenn Miller, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association, warned yesterday. "Don't strip one program bare to help another one. To pull $40 million a year for two years from the Keystone Fund makes no sense."

When libraries apply for Keystone funds, they must come up with matching amounts from local sources, Miller said. Once approved, the library project will not receive state reimbursement until it's finished.

"This isn't a 'slush fund,'" he said. "The money that's in there now is obligated. You can't just take it out."

Libraries have been granted about $84 million under the fund to repair or expand their facilities in the past 14 years. A recent state survey estimated that $335 million is needed in the next five years to cover essential projects.

Last year the fund gave $500,000 to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for its new Hill District branch.

Regional public libraries that also received Keystone funds last year were: Avalon, $16,000 for new windows and security; Crafton, $96,443 for expansion; Peters Township, $500,000 for addition to its building; Scottdale, $500,000 for a new library; Shaler North Hills, $21,450 for remodeling; Sharpsburg, $75,000 for renovations; and Zelienople, $15,180 for repairs.

Allegheny County libraries have been given $3.7 million by Keystone since 1993.

"This is a particularly critical source of funding for the county because a lot of our libraries are extremely old," said Marilyn Jenkins, director of the Allegheny County Library Association. "Money goes to libraries both big and small, but local governments often need that state help to get a project off the ground," she said.

Negotiations on a final budget are expected to continue over the weekend.