After months of discussion, the Edgartown library building committee has selected its current North Water street location as the site for expansion.

The committee had been considering either the current Carnegie building or the old Edgartown School as two possible sites for the new library. The preliminary structural report for both buildings came back favorably, but a new building code that came into effect at the end of September found the old school unsuitable for use as a library.

The new code examines masonry in buildings for load-bearing capacity, and the old school was found deficient. The building committee received the news last Thursday.

“We have an opportunity to consider the demolition of the [Edgartown] school and construct a new library for the town of Edgartown,” committee chairman Chris Scott said, offering a third alternative. “We have an opportunity to pursue that but if it’s not supported then there’s no point . . . is this an option we would like to pursue or should we just say no we don’t want to do that and we’re going to focus our energies on the North Water street site?”

Librarians expressed some interest in seeing a possible design, but library trustees and members of the Edgartown Library Foundation, a private fund-raising group, voiced strong opposition. After much back and forth, the committee agreed to keep the library in its current home.

The library committee is running short on time as a January deadline approaches for a final design and program submission for state grant money. The committee hopes to receive matching funds from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners; the $5 million to $7 million project could be stalled for another five years if the town does not receive the grant.

The library is in the same pool of grant applicants as the West Tisbury Library project and five other similarly-sized towns. Edgartown submitted a letter of intent in October that outlined the project and program requirements. Both towns are confident they will receive grants.

Edgartown’s main sticking point currently centers on parking.

At a meeting on Wednesday with library architects Celia Imrey and Jeffrey Hoover, there were no clear solutions, and architects said they will take another look at how best to meet the parking needs of the new building.

The draft plan calls for an 11,260-square-foot building; the plan calls for tearing down the Warren House, which the town bought for $3.5 million in 2005 with the intention of using it for the library expansion project. The Warren House site may now become the parking lot for the renovated Carnegie library.

Two new buildings would be added on to the existing Carnegie building, with a large reading room and meeting space on one side and another addition in the back. A small outdoor reading room may also be included in the back.

The architects had a few challenges to incorporate into the plan, including increased use during the summer months, parking, cost and coming up with a design that would suit the North Water street architectural heritage. Eyebrows went up when architects showed a plinth in front of the Carnegie building to accommodate extra outdoor seating and a handicapped-accessible ramp.

The architects were also urged to explore further use of a basement level in the new reading room, and adjust the roof lines on the new buildings to match those of the existing building.

But plinth and parking aside, the new design plan was met with overall enthusiasm.

“I like this design a lot. I find the program reading room is hugely attractive,” committee member Richard Knight said. “I love the children’s [room], I think that’s a great room up there. Potential for great light and nice room. I like the sight lines of the library. It’s good space and organization and I like the parking possibilities.”

Committee member Morton Fearey agreed. “Considering where we’re going, it’s a very good first step,” he said, adding: “I think we have to look at the basement as an alternative because I’m very troubled by doing a whole new library that’s only a little bit bigger than the one we’ve got. We need to keep the alternative in front of us. Other than that, it’s a great step forward.”

The committee will meet with architects again in two weeks to see the next phase of the design. Ms. Imrey said she hopes to have everything completed by December.