diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b4d3e91..de2f985 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,11 +4,35 @@
 ![](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blueviolet.svg)
 [![Crates.io](https://img.shields.io/crates/v/bitsy-parser.svg)](https://crates.io/crates/bitsy-parser)
 
-a library for parsing Bitsy game data.
-
+[Bitsy](http://ledoux.io/bitsy/editor.html) is a small game editor created by [Adam Le Doux](http://ledoux.io).
+this crate provides a library and command-line utilities for working with Bitsy game data.
 the version number follows Bitsy itself, so version 0.70.* targets Bitsy 7.0.
 
-## how to use
+`bitsy-parser` is minimally invasive; unless you make any changes, 
+an exported game should be identical to the imported game. however, this assumes your game data is valid.
+most minor errors will simply be corrected on import (e.g. extraneous tiles in a room) 
+but bigger problems may cause `bitsy-parser` to crash or fail. 
+
+I have tested `bitsy-parser` on a dataset of over 1500 Bitsy games ranging from Bitsy 1.0 to Bitsy 7.1 
+and have found that the vast majority of games can be imported without any problems.
+so, I can almost guarantee that a Bitsy game will not be mangled by the parser, 
+but I still recommend making backups of your game data periodically. 
+
+## utilities
+
+this crate provides some command-line tools for working with Bitsy game data. 
+
+* `bitsy-dedupe`
+* `bitsy-merge`
+* `bitsy-validate`
+
+the source for these can be found in `src/bin`.
+if you have Cargo installed, you can install/update these utilities with `cargo install --force bitsy-parser`.
+if your `.cargo/bin` directory is in your PATH, you will be able to use these utilities anywhere on your computer. 
+
+## library
+
+for use in your own Rust applications. can both parse and export Bitsy game data.
 
 a simple example program:
 
@@ -28,8 +52,7 @@ fn main() {
 
 some more practical uses would be things like:
 
-* remove duplicate tiles
-* merge two Bitsy games together
+* convert images or other file formats to Bitsy assets 
 * programmatically create Bitsy games
 * a Bitsy game editor