Makiki Community Library needs financial help, but it would appear that the money will have to come from some source other than state coffers.

State legislators have allotted $4.5 million for renovations at the deteriorating structure that houses the library, but for two years they haven't been able to shake loose that money from the administration. On Friday, Gov. Linda Lingle alerted library leaders that she had decided against releasing the grant. That's too bad, because a neighborhood resource could be lost for the lack of a one-time infusion of funds.

To her credit, Lingle did tour the facility and gave the appropriation some consideration. And her argument — that the library was a city initiative to begin with and that primary responsibility still lies there — is in keeping with her long-standing defense of home rule, allowing county concerns to remain a matter for each council.

However, the city has only come up with $1.7 million for a stopgap upgrade to bring the building into compliance with federal requirements that it be accessible to the disabled. Clearly, the City Council must take a hard look at raising its own level of commitment to the library, but the library needs an assist in the meantime.

That's where Lingle can reaffirm another central position of her administration: that government often can help community initiatives, even when state dollars aren't available. In the past, the state has offered up the help of its Office of Community Services to help nonprofits seek out federal grants. She has promised similar support to the library, and should follow through.

It's not much to ask, even for a library that functions more as a reading room than as a comprehensive collection. The community needs such humble amenities, too.