Category: Uncategorized

HPLD Staff Member Wins Major Award!

Okay, this is a fun one:

HPLD staff member Michelle won this year’s Pattie Johnson Outreach Award at the national Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services conference!

The award goes to “a bookmobile or outreach support staff member who has provided exemplary service to their community through bookmobile and outreach services,” and here’s a bit from the ABOS press release:

“Through her interactions with students, Michelle has built meaningful relationships that extend beyond book checkouts. She takes the time to engage with students, she provides the spark that fosters curiosity and learning. The bookmobile program, under her leadership, has been a vital resource for students and families in our community, particularly for those who would otherwise have limited access to libraries and books.”

Michelle is a star, always great to work with, and just the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. Please congratulate her along with us!

Here’s the full text of the press release from ABOS:

Michelle Flores of High Plains Library District is the recipient of the 2025 Pattie Johnston Outreach Award. The Pattie Johnston Outreach Award, sponsored by Specialty Vehicle Services, is presented annually to a bookmobile or outreach support staff member who has provided exemplary service to their community through bookmobile and outreach services.

Michelle has consistently provided exemplary service and has proven to be an invaluable asset to our community. Her work has not only met, but exceeded expectations, and it is impossible to overstate the positive impact she has had on the students and staff she interacts with.

Whether Michelle is interacting with students, faculty, or community members, she always goes above and beyond to ensure that everyone feels comfortable and valued. Her genuine passion for books and reading fosters an atmosphere where learning is encouraged and celebrated.

Through her interactions with students, Michelle has built meaningful relationships that extend beyond book checkouts. She takes the time to engage with students, she provides the spark that fosters curiosity and learning. The bookmobile program, under her leadership, has been a vital resource for students and families in our community, particularly for those who would otherwise have limited access to libraries and books.

The Pattie Johnston Outreach Award was presented on October 9th, 2025, at the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.

Traveling Exhibit Headed Erie’s Way!

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and American Battlefield Trust have teamed up to create an incredible traveling exhibit: The American Revolution Experience, and we’re proud to say that the exhibit’s next stop will be at Erie Community Library, and it’ll be available during all open library hours starting November 15^th and ending December 1^st.

This is a huge, incredible opportunity to learn a lot about how our country got its start, and with us right on the eve of the 250^th anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence, seems like pretty solid timing.

To tell you a little more about it, we caught up with Tracey Reichart, Regent for the Indian Peaks Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

High Plains Library District (HPLD): I think for a lot of people, their familiarity with Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) comes from Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, which I’m guessing is not a very complete picture. So tell me a little bit about what you’re all about, what DAR does and so on.

Tracey Reichart (TR): NSDAR was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Washington DC. DAR is a non-political women’s lineage and service organization that focuses on three key pillars: Historic Preservation, Education, and Patriotism. Roughly 1,000,000 women have found purpose and passion in the DAR. We are members in over 3000 local chapters across 50 states and in multiple countries around the world. Colorado has 49 chapters and approximately 3000 members. The Indian Peaks Chapter was formed just 10 years ago and serves Louisville, Erie, and Lafayette with 125 members currently. Indian Peaks is a vibrant and social chapter that has provided generous support to local schools and the community, providing history education materials and school supplies.

Veterans are another key group that we support through our Quilts of Valor recognition program, holiday outreach, Rocky Mountain Honor Flight, and more.

This past year we completed fundraising to purchase and distribute patriotic all-weather American flags to families who recently rebuilt homes from the devastating Marshall fire.

There are so many opportunities to provide much needed community support through DAR!

HPLD: I noticed the DAR website has a lot of genealogical research resources, and there’s a whole library of information. I didn’t realize how parallel public libraries were in that way. Tell me a little bit about that aspect of DAR.

TR: As a lineage society, DAR is built on genealogy and has one of the most extensive libraries in the country, located at the national headquarters in Washington, D.C. The library and building are open to visitors with a full staff of genealogists eager to assist anyone with research and records. Additionally, DAR provides members with opportunities to take online genealogy courses at multiple levels of complexity to build individual genealogy skill sets. At the chapter level, trained genealogists (Genies, as they are called) help new applicants research their families and obtain documents necessary to qualify for membership.

Many times, women who believe they could not have possibly had an ancestor that gave aid to the American Revolution, do find they indeed do qualify either through their ancestor’s military records, civic records, and more. If you think about it, citizens in the 1770s either identified as a Revolutionary or as a Loyalist! So, there’s pretty good odds that a patriot does exist in one’s family! We help sort that out!

HPLD: I was looking through your membership, and I saw highlighted an architect, a farmer, a nun, firefighters, military folks, and a few librarians. What do you think it is about DAR that appeals to people in such different fields or of such varying interests?

TR: There is literally something of interest for everyone in DAR. Each member comes with their own individual passion and can engage in a variety of activities and events, as much, or as little, as they would like. Through common interests in conservation efforts, women’s topics, patriotism, history, education, literacy, DAR is a vibrant group of women who enjoy volunteering and participating in social events together. DAR is an incredibly rewarding experience!

HPLD: Let’s talk about the display going up at Erie Community Library. Tell me a little bit about it. What’s in it? What’s it about?

TR: There are lots of details about it at the American Battlefield Trust website, and some of their highlights include bits about how people chose sides during the war, roles in the army, including lots of non-combatant roles, and how the legacy of The American Revolution is still visible all around us today.

HPLD: When we spoke previously, you mentioned that the exhibit is great for around third graders and up with no upper limit, and that there are interactive elements, especially for kids. Tell me a little bit about those interactive, kid-friendly pieces.

TR: The exhibit is great for the entire family and is specifically geared toward middle school to high school student ages. However, younger children will benefit from exposure to the exhibit with hands-on materials made available to engage younger students at the exhibit area. We also plan to provide Spanish language guides to participants needing assistance. A fun Revolutionary War “scavenger hunt” will round out the available activities.

HPLD: It’s okay to come if you really don’t know much about American history or government and that kind of thing, right? There isn’t a test you have to pass, and you won’t be totally lost even if you have very little background in American history?

TR: What I love about the exhibit is that you do not have to have any knowledge of the American Revolution or the history of the United States. The exhibit is a sequential journey, told over multiple high quality color panels, that takes each participant through the history of numerous causes that led up to the Revolution. It explains how peace talks failed and ultimately led to that first “Shot Heard Round the World” confrontation between the patriots and the British in 1775 in Concord and Lexington. It’s understandable to everyone, whether you are a history “geek” or are just curious about how our country became independent from England and created the first democracy in the world. This extraordinary exhibit will engage you right at a time when America is kicking off the celebration of The Declaration of Independence and its 250^th birthday on July 4, 2026! This milestone will resonate in the heart of every American!

HPLD: Talk to me about the importance of seeing things in person. We can see a lot of things online, pictures and so on. Personally, I like to go and see stuff myself, but what’s your opinion on the importance or value of going and seeing something like the display that’ll be at Erie in real life?

TR: People learn in different ways. So much information is online these days. However, this exhibit is such a visual treat, and we are extremely lucky to have this “live event” in our community! I think that physically coming together as neighbors to engage, reflect on the significance, and generate conversation about the exhibit and what it represents, is crucial for our society, especially at a time when the world feels so fragile. We need connection! The fact that this is physically accessible to anyone is incredible.

HPLD: With so many options all over the country, I definitely appreciate the choice to place the exhibit in Erie. Tell me a little bit about how Erie became one of the exhibit’s selected locations.

TR: The touring exhibit first started visiting locations around the country in 2024 at state capitals and other government buildings, exhibit halls, museums, libraries, and more. Indian Peaks Chapter jumped on the opportunity early on and had hoped to be selected at some point in this multi-year tour. As a prime location in the Denver Metro Area along the I-25 corridor, Erie Community Library is a beautiful and accessible venue for so many in the north Denver, Broomfield, Boulder, Weld, and Larimer counties. Additionally, Golden was another area selected venue, along with western slope and eastern plain’s locations for the Colorado tour in November and December.

HPLD: I gather you’re all gearing up for 2026 and the semiquincentennial, 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Tell me a little bit about how that’s affected DAR’s plans for the next year. I imagine it’s quite busy!

TR: Yes, there are plenty of semiquincentennial events in the planning stages across the country, and Colorado is no exception! Additionally, next year marks Colorado’s 150^th state anniversary that coincides with the 250^th, and there are lots of plans coming on that also. Stay tuned as DAR introduces events and celebrations for both the state and local areas!

HPLD: I did see that DAR offers scholarships, and that the window opens in November. We serve a lot of folks with kids headed to college, so that might be of interest. Can you tell me anything about that?

TR: Yes! As a part of our education pillar, DAR does offer chapter, state, and national level scholarships to high school seniors, students in undergraduate and graduate programs, and even trade schools. Our local chapter would be happy to work with anyone interested in pursuing these scholarships that typically begin at the local level and then work their way through other screenings at the state and national level. A variety of scholarships range from $200 upwards to several thousand dollars and typically require participation in our annual student essay contest for those who are middle through high school levels. Additional scholarships at higher levels of study are more merit and needs based. Please contact Indian Peaks Chapter, NSDAR directly via email at ipregent.treichart@gmail.com for more information.

HPLD: Let’s give everyone those details about the display: The dates, when it’s available, and I just want to remind everyone it’s free and there’s no registration, you can just come check it out anytime the library is available.

TR: I hope everyone in the community and even classroom field trips will take advantage of this incredible opportunity to view the American Revolution Experience! This free national touring exhibit will be held at the Erie Community Library from November 15 – December 1 during standard library hours each day. Educational handouts, themed puzzles and games, along with an exhibit scavenger hunt will be available, as hosted by Indian Peaks Chapter members.

HPLD: If people want to learn more about DAR, where should they go?

TR: To learn more about the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, please go to the national website www.dar.org or visit our local chapter website at www.indianpeaks.coloradodar.org or contact Indian Peaks Chapter Regent, Tracey Reichart, at ipregent.treichart@gmail.com.

High Plains to Host Annual Diaper Drive

(Greeley – October, 2025) – Beginning November 3rd, High Plains Library District (HPLD), in partnership with United Way of Weld County, will host diaper collection sites at all district libraries. Items to be collected include diapers, baby wipes, and rash cream.

“High Plains Library District is happy to partner with United Way of Weld County once again to host collection sites across our district,” said James Melena, HPLD Community Relations and Marketing Manager. “All donations will go to our patrons and community members through United Way of Weld County.”

This year’s diaper drive will run from November 3^rd to November 16^th.

HPLD Library CD Haul and the Joys of Listening to Music on Discs

Let us take you on a brief journey about the importance of CDs, ending with a bunch of recommendations from HPLD’s catalog.

Get all these albums in HPLD’s catalog:

Babymetal: The Other One

Of Montreal: Lady on the Cusp

Babymetal: Metal Galaxy

Steel Panther: Live from Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage

The Killers: Pressure Machine

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit: Georgia Blue

Fall Out Boy: So Much (for) Stardust

The Drive-By Truckers: Welcome 2 Club XIII

Bon Iver: Sable, Fable

Chappell Roan: Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

Yungblud: Idols

Thunder: Dopamine

2025 Cult Movie Vault Challenge

THE HPLD 2025 OCTOBER CULT MOVIE VAULT CHALLENGE!

The Rules

Below is the full list of categories/movies. This list will remain full and intact for the duration of the challenge.

This is a group effort, so as people check movies off from the form, they will disappear. So if you find your category missing from the form, someone else beat you to it! But don’t despair, see if your movie might fit another category. If not, well, you’ll just have to watch ANOTHER!

You can check off multiple categories with the same movie, so if something fits two different things, boom, done.

You can revisit the form as often as you’d like, you don’t need to check off all your movies at once.

I will also warn you that most of these titles are probably not for the kids. Please use your normal judgment in picking a movie for the family.

If you have any super specific questions about the movies you’ve picked, whether they “count,” the answer is “yes.”

Last but not least, here is a plain text version of this. The rest of this page is…a lot.

Pick any horror/scary movie to fulfill each of these timeframes:

A movie released between 1970 and 1975

A movie released between 1975 and 1980

A movie released between 1980 and 1985

A movie released between 1985 and 1990

A movie released between 1990 and 1995

A movie released between 1995 and 2000

A movie released…IN THE YEAR 2000!

A movie released between 2000 and 2005

A movie released between 2005 and 2010

A movie released between 2010 and 2015

A movie released between 2015 and 2020

A movie released between 2020 and now

These Movies Are On Disc in Some Cases, and All of them are on Kanopy:

Assault on Precinct 13

Vampire’s Kiss

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Harold and Maude

Of all the movies HPLD has on disc, these are officially catalogued as Cult Movie Vault Films. Please watch each of them:

Lifeforce

Pieces

The Serpent and the Rainbow

The Video Dead

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight

Pick a horror/scary movie for each of the following categories:

A movie released the year you were born

A randomly selected horror movie https://www.randomeower.com/random-movie

A horror movie selected by putting your first name into our catalog and picking from what comes up.

A movie that terrorized you as a child.

A scary movie that you watched at a sleepover.

A scary movie set in Colorado.

A movie with an IMDB score of less than 4.0.

A “family” horror movie.

A scary movie with a scene that takes place in a library.

Movies Only For Those of the Stoutest of Bravery Levels (some are on disc, all are on Kanopy)

And, of course, the final, most heinous of all:

Batman and Robin

Libby Holds Change

There’s a big change in the way Libby manages suspended holds!

Previously, let’s say a hold was about to come in, but you knew that for the next week, you were dialed in on catching up on your horror movies in preparation for early October. You could suspend that hold, and Libby would ask you, “How long would you like it suspended?”

This suspension would keep you at the top of the list (or moving up the list if you weren’t already at the top), but Libby wouldn’t actually deliver the suspended item until the timeframe you chose. So, let’s say you chose 2 weeks, your position on the list would keep moving up, but you wouldn’t actually get the item, even if you made it to the top of the list. However, at the end of two weeks of suspension, you’d get the first available copy.

NOW, though, it’s different!

Instead of asking you when you’d like your hold to be unsuspended (de-suspended? dispended? Have your parents come in and talk to the teacher?), Libby keeps your hold suspended until you log in, go to your holds, and unsuspend them manually.

You continue to move up the list, just like before, but Libby no longer allows you to set a suspension period. You just have to get into your account and unsuspend your holds when you’re ready, or maybe just before you’re ready to receive them.

The other thing to watch for is that if you suspend a hold and leave it suspended, you will be kicked off the hold list after 365 days of suspension.

So, if I put a book on hold today, then I suspend that hold, I need to make sure I unsuspend it in less than 365 days, otherwise that hold will *poof* VANISH!

One last change: If your hold becomes available, and if you miss the checkout period, the hold will automatically switch to being a suspended hold, and you will have to go in and unsuspend it.

WHY is this changing? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US, HPLD?

Well, it’s not really something we chose. Overdrive, Libby’s parent company, made the decision, and here’s what they have to say about it:

After reviewing hold data and feedback from partners, these changes are designed to streamline the movement of holds and reduce the amount of time unwanted holds sit unclaimed. Or, as we like to call it, a win-win-win situation for all involved!

It sounds like Overdrive is trying to reduce instances of unclaimed holds in order to keep things moving a little faster. So we’ll have to see if this works.

If it does, the good news is that super popular titles with long lists might get to you a littler sooner.

If you have questions, you can always contact us and we’ll do what we can to help you out.

We also made this very quick video guide that shows you how to suspend and unsuspend holds:

Super Human Intelligence Reading List

As you may recall, in a recent edition of our newsletter we talked about an AI-generated booklist that “hallucinated” a bunch of books that NEVER EXISTED, and then a bunch of major news outlets ran the booklist to help you fill your summer reading list.

No? You didn’t read that? Is it because you’re not signed up for our newsletter? Was the tone a little too snarky? I must admit, I was a bit upset.

Maybe more than a bit.

In retaliation…no, too strong…

In measured, calm response to this AI booklist nonsense, HPLD asked readers to add title to a NON-AI Summer Booklist, a Human Intelligence Booklist.

And you all came through!

Without further ado…well, okay, maybe one more slam: AI Summer Booklist? I’ll just file that in the circular filing cabinet, the one that has standing water in it and that flushes when I push a lever.

Without FURTHER further ado, here are the books you all recommended!

With a couple caveats:

These are books recommended by readers of our newsletter. I suspect, highly, that a few have been added by their authors. And because I respect the indie author hustle, I’m allowing it. BUT, this also means a few of these titles are not available at HPLD, so I’ve linked to them in Prospector, and when that’s not possible, in Worldcat, our interlibrary loan service.

These titles may not necessarily be available through interlibrary loan, however, you can get all the info you need to either purchase them or make a purchase request if you’d like!

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Summerlong by Dean Bakopoulos

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohar

The Legend of Kamui, vol. 1 by Sanpei Shirato

“Any book by Gordon Korman!”

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Ella Minnow Pea: a novel in letters by Mark Dunn

The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Akbar’s Jihad (series) by Paul Carlberg

Safely Home by Randy Alcorn

HPLD’s Board is seeking candidates for one open seat

The High Plains Library District Board is seeking candidates to fill one vacancy on its Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees consists of seven (7) members, all of whom must reside within the boundaries of the District’s legal service area. The area needing representation is: Region 6: New Raymer, Kersey, and Grover

The term runs from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2029.

Interested applicants can apply here.

Application deadline is September 26, 2025 at 5:00pm.

Trustee Interviews will be held October 24, 2025 from 1:00-3:00pm.

For more information, contact James Melena at

jmelena@highplains.us or 970-506-8559

Renewal Issue 005

Renewal, Issue 5

Because HPLD items can be renewed 3 times in most cases, the format of this newsletter is one story, The Checkout, followed by three smaller news items, the Renewals.

Pretty clever, eh? You should probably read on and discover all the other awesome ideas we’ve had.

RFP? Me?

You might’ve heard that we won (received? Were awarded? What’s the right way to say you got a grant?) a big grant from our buddies at The Weld Trust.

Over $800,000 if we can brag for a moment!

One staff member, who shall remain nameless but does write a lot of newsletter stuff did suggest we use the money for books. Specifically, copies of One Piece, which just seems to keep chugging along and is now up to volume 108, so we could lay this $800,000 aside to offset the costs of new copies until the series is done, maybe at volume 40,000? Who knows!?

But cooler, more rational, sane-er, financially responsible heads have prevailed, and we’re building a mobile workforce unit.

And we need your proposals for that unit!

Take a look at the Request for Proposal, and if you’re in the game, get us your best pitches!

Renewal 1: A Deep Dive

Yes, we’ve gotten into the video essay game, mere years after we all enjoyed the 4-hour documentary about the failed Star Wars hotel and the mind-bending trip through myhouse.wad.

Our foray into this mostly-tamed west is a look at Choose Your Own Adventure books, especially volume 1: The Cave of Time!

Renewal 2: Why Is There So Much Stuff "On Order" In The Catalog?

Fair question, fair question.

We’re in the thick of renovating our admin building, including a nice little surprise that you’re going to love, so we had to press PAUSE on item orders a bit back because, well, we didn’t know if the address we normally use would, um, exist in the summer. Like, the PLACE still exists, but we didn’t know if any structures would be there (they are) or if there would be power (there’s not) or if anyone would be there to receive shipments (there isn’t).

Fortunately, we’ve got some temporary digs, and we’ve restarted all the paused orders, so things are rolling in fast!

I can say this with authority because FINALLY my Uketsu books are in!

Renewal 3: A Kanopy Gem

There’s a lot of great stuff on Kanopy, and it’s hard to pick things to highlight because there’s SO MUCH…

Okay, this is getting into the territory where you hear podcast ads that are like, “This supplement is one of my favorite things on the planet, I use it 7 times a day, I would probably be dead without this stuff!”

I don’t need to sell Kanopy that hard, it’s a streaming service that’s FREE with your library card, what more do you need?

You know, I will say that when the Kanopy screen pops up, and it has the little slogan “Thoughtful entertainment,” and then I watch Tammy and the T-Rex, it does give me a good deal of joy. There is NOTHING thoughtful about that movie, Kanopy. If you all were keeping track of what I watch, you would’ve deleted that slogan from my version of the app years ago.

Anyway, I did watch a great movie, dare I say a THOUGHTFUL movie, that I’d like to recommend to you, especially if you’re a fan of the sort of 90s indie movies made by people like Kevin Smith.

I Like Movies follows a young guy named Lawrence, a teenage Ignatius J. Reilly fumbling his way through the last months of high school and trying to find his way to New York City to make his filmmaker dreams come true.

But this isn’t a romantic, “Isn’t coming of age in New York the pinnacle of experience?” kind of movie that I think we’ve all tired of, it’s about a teenager who doesn’t have it easy, who can be a bit of an obnoxious jerk at times (as many of us were as teens. No? Just me?), and there are lots of great character moments and little scenes that really make for something special.

No explosions, no hospital bedside sequences, no superheroes, but it’s a movie where you can feel that the people behind the camera believed in it as a story, not just as Product.

It’s probably hard for movies like this to make as big a splash these days, there’s so much competition online, and theaters don’t really seem to screen stuff like this as much as they should, so do yourself a favor, get on Kanopy, giggle at “thoughtful entertainment,” and give I Like Movies 2 tickets and 99 minutes of your time. Well worth it.

Renewal Issue 004

Welcome to this, our 4th mini newsletter, Renewal!

Because HPLD items can be renewed 3 times in most cases, the format of this newsletter is one story, The Checkout, and three smaller news items, the renewals.

Nothing better than explaining the cute format you decided on three issues ago and are now stuck with, eh?

Oh, well. Onward!

Checkout: HPLD Wins Budget Presentation Award

Once again, for about the billionth time, HPLD has been awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award by the Government Finance Officers Association!

This is something we like to make a big deal about because it means we’re continuing to produce high quality reporting that follows best practices in budgeting and that we are being transparent with the ways YOUR MONEY is spent!

Congratulations, to, well, us, but also to you for being fortunate enough to celebrate with us!

Unfortunately, our plaque is packed away because we’re moving some stuff from our admin building right now, so please enjoy this photoshopped plaque, which is an unreasonable facsimile of the real deal, which we’ll dust off as soon as we’re re-settled.

Renewal 1: HPLD Friends & Foundation Awarded BIG BIG Grant!

HPLDF&F has received nearly $831,000 from The Weld Trust for a Mobile Workforce Unit for the High Plains Library District in collaboration with Employment Services of Weld County Weld County Government. The grant is the final key to the multi-institution Weld County collaboration to bring workforce development and employment services to those who need it the most in rural areas.

What does that mean, in regular language?

We’re going to build a custom, state-of-the-art vehicle loaded up with equipment and resources so that we can deliver training and expertise to some of the most rural areas we serve.

This vehicle will join the ranks of Great Vans of History, which includes the A-Team van, the Mystery Machine, and who could forget Tango & Cash’s battle van!?

Renewal 2: ReadCon is Right Around the Corner

Yep, we’ve got just about 2 weeks before ReadCon hits Greeley! It’s our most-star-studded ReadCon ever and the first one we’ve held in over TEN YEARS! It’s going to be great, and we need you to come out and support it so that we can host more events like this in the future. Register today, come in two weeks, buy snacks sometime in between. Because the only thing better than an author event is an author event with snackies.

Renewal 3: Ihatovo Monogatari

イーハトーヴォ物語 or Īhatōvo Monogatari, or Ihatovo Story is a game that was released for the Super Famicom (the Japanese version of the Super Nintendo) in Japan in 1993, and thanks to a fan translation, is playable in English as of 2018.

Ihatovo Story is an RPG, sort of. It doesn’t have the battling and leveling up you might expect from a typical RPG, and instead it’s a more cozy adventure that revolves around you, the player, helping the resident of Ihatovo, a pretty pleasant place, locate items or complete tasks.

Why is this in a library newsletter? The world of Ihatovo is based heavily on the works of Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa, and it’s one of the most direct book-to-game examples out there.

You can watch a brief synopsis here:

Or a complete playthrough here: