What does “Doesn’t harm the books!”mean here? Is it an imperative sentence?

Question

These days, you can find out how to disinfect books on a librarians’ thread on Reddit. Your best bet appears to be either denatured-alcohol swipes or kitchen disinfectant in a mist-spray bottle, although if you stick books in a little oven and heat them to a hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit there’s a bonus: you also kill bedbugs. (“Doesn’t harm the books!”)

Is the sentence “Doesn’t harm the books!” an imperative sentence? (But I usually see imperative sentences starting with “Do/Don't” as the teacher says it omits the subject "you"， but I haven't met this kind that starts with "Doesn't".) Does is mean "Please pay attention not to harm the books when heating the book!" or "Take it easy! This operation won't harm the books!" ?

Greybeard · Answer

Does is mean "Please pay attention not to harm the books when heating the book!" or "Take it easy! This operation won't harm the books!"? You are almost correct, it is not an imperative, it is a shortened form of It doesn't harm the books! (It = putting them in the oven at 165F).

Narasimham · Answer

It is certainly not imperative.
Conjunctives such as "however, but" etc. are implied by the context .It is the explicit rejoinder to an assumed reaction arising from a shocked reader).
There two sentences

Heating the books ...is an assertive sentence.
It does n't harm the books by over-heating ..is also assertive.

They are joined by a conjunction that is implied. The implication is
" but (=however) do not worry! "
or
" rest assured, no need be be overly concerned!".

What does “Doesn’t harm the books!”mean here? Is it an imperative sentence?

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