- Paperback books are less expensive than hardcover
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By only buying paperback books, libraries could increase the # of new book titles
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If public libraries bought only paperback books, users of public libraries would be better served
My first thought is about this idea of "new books." Whose to say that new books are going to better serve the users of the public library? What if the users of the public library actually like having the biggest selection of old classics, published in their hardcover form? I am going to be looking for something that focuses on this, the idea that new books are NOT going to serve the users better than having hardcover books. In addition, we want to note that this argument is NOT about what kind of book is better, period. It is about what is going to serve the users better and this would mean that we have to focus on the users themselves.
- (A) It looks like we are trying to avoid the budget cuts by purchasing paperback books. Thus, we don't care about what happens if the budgets are cut. Let's talk about those users and what is going to better serve them!
(B) This is nice, perhaps a strengthener as it shows that paperback books can be made to not wear down so easily. However, we still want to know about those users! This just adds a nice +1 to paperback books but that is the exact opposite of what we are trying to do here.
(C) But what about those hardcover books that are never published in paperback? It seems like that kind of focus would make this answer choice better by showing that titles can be exclusive to hardcover bindings. However, this is all moot because it doesn't get to the crux of our focus: the. users.
(D) Yes! We finally got something that focuses on the users of the library. This has so many great elements that make for a great weakener. (1) It talks about the users, the subject of our argument; (2) it says that they "depend" on these hardcovers, showing that they are going to be best served by things that provide for this dependence; and (3) it shows that these books that they "depend on" are ONLY published in hardcover and that the users NEEd "up to date" materials. This is huge because if the library ONLY gets paperback books from here on out, then they won't get these up-to-date materials that they NEED. This answer is beautiful.
(E) So they buy books. How does this relate to being best served by the library? Well, we don't know. This answer is vague and doesn't really relate to what we care about: the users and how they are best served.