diff --git a/src/librustc_typeck/README.md b/src/librustc_typeck/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a38f04e304b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/librustc_typeck/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+NB: This crate is part of the Rust compiler. For an overview of the
+compiler as a whole, see
+[the README.md file found in `librustc`](../librustc/README.md).
+
+The `rustc_typeck` crate contains the source for "type collection" and
+"type checking", as well as a few other bits of related functionality.
+(It draws heavily on the [type inferencing][infer] and
+[trait solving][traits] code found in librustc.)
+
+[infer]: ../librustc/infer/README.md
+[traits]: ../librustc/traits/README.md
+
+## Type collection
+
+Type "collection" is the process of convering the types found in the
+HIR (`hir::Ty`), which represent the syntactic things that the user
+wrote, into the **internal representation** used by the compiler
+(`Ty<'tcx>`) -- we also do similar conversions for where-clauses and
+other bits of the function signature.
+
+To try and get a sense for the difference, consider this function:
+
+```rust
+struct Foo { }
+fn foo(x: Foo, y: self::Foo) { .. }
+//        ^^^     ^^^^^^^^^
+```
+
+Those two parameters `x` and `y` each have the same type: but they
+will have distinct `hir::Ty` nodes. Those nodes will have different
+spans, and of course they encode the path somewhat differently. But
+once they are "collected" into `Ty<'tcx>` nodes, they will be
+represented by the exact same internal type.
+
+Collection is defined as a bundle of queries (e.g., `type_of`) for
+computing information about the various functions, traits, and other
+items in the crate being compiled. Note that each of these queries is
+concerned with *interprocedural* things -- for example, for a function
+definition, collection will figure out the type and signature of the
+function, but it will not visit the *body* of the function in any way,
+nor examine type annotations on local variables (that's the job of
+type *checking*).
+
+For more details, see the `collect` module.
+
+## Type checking
+
+TODO
diff --git a/src/librustc_typeck/collect.rs b/src/librustc_typeck/collect.rs
index b0f3ff3ef35..79cb9147c18 100644
--- a/src/librustc_typeck/collect.rs
+++ b/src/librustc_typeck/collect.rs
@@ -8,50 +8,21 @@
 // option. This file may not be copied, modified, or distributed
 // except according to those terms.
 
-/*
-
-# Collect phase
-
-The collect phase of type check has the job of visiting all items,
-determining their type, and writing that type into the `tcx.types`
-table.  Despite its name, this table does not really operate as a
-*cache*, at least not for the types of items defined within the
-current crate: we assume that after the collect phase, the types of
-all local items will be present in the table.
-
-Unlike most of the types that are present in Rust, the types computed
-for each item are in fact type schemes. This means that they are
-generic types that may have type parameters. TypeSchemes are
-represented by a pair of `Generics` and `Ty`.  Type
-parameters themselves are represented as `ty_param()` instances.
-
-The phasing of type conversion is somewhat complicated. There is no
-clear set of phases we can enforce (e.g., converting traits first,
-then types, or something like that) because the user can introduce
-arbitrary interdependencies. So instead we generally convert things
-lazilly and on demand, and include logic that checks for cycles.
-Demand is driven by calls to `AstConv::get_item_type_scheme` or
-`AstConv::trait_def`.
-
-Currently, we "convert" types and traits in two phases (note that
-conversion only affects the types of items / enum variants / methods;
-it does not e.g. compute the types of individual expressions):
-
-0. Intrinsics
-1. Trait/Type definitions
-
-Conversion itself is done by simply walking each of the items in turn
-and invoking an appropriate function (e.g., `trait_def_of_item` or
-`convert_item`). However, it is possible that while converting an
-item, we may need to compute the *type scheme* or *trait definition*
-for other items.
-
-There are some shortcomings in this design:
-- Because the item generics include defaults, cycles through type
-  parameter defaults are illegal even if those defaults are never
-  employed. This is not necessarily a bug.
-
-*/
+//! "Collection" is the process of determining the type and other external
+//! details of each item in Rust. Collection is specifically concerned
+//! with *interprocedural* things -- for example, for a function
+//! definition, collection will figure out the type and signature of the
+//! function, but it will not visit the *body* of the function in any way,
+//! nor examine type annotations on local variables (that's the job of
+//! type *checking*).
+//!
+//! Collecting is ultimately defined by a bundle of queries that
+//! inquire after various facts about the items in the crate (e.g.,
+//! `type_of`, `generics_of`, `predicates_of`, etc). See the `provide` function
+//! for the full set.
+//!
+//! At present, however, we do run collection across all items in the
+//! crate as a kind of pass. This should eventually be factored away.
 
 use astconv::{AstConv, Bounds};
 use lint;