diff --git a/README-maintainer.md b/README-maintainer.md
index e6db10ad..ea619961 100644
--- a/README-maintainer.md
+++ b/README-maintainer.md
@@ -285,6 +285,16 @@ Building docs from pull requests is also enabled.
 * Avoid attaching too much metadata to objects and object handles
   since those have to get copied around a lot.
 
+* Prefer std::string_view to std::string const& and char const*.
+
+  * Where functions rely on strings being null-terminated, std::string_view may not be appropriate.
+
+  * For return values, consider whether returning a string_view is safe or whether it is more appropriate
+    to return a std::string or std::string const&, especially in the public API.
+
+  * NEVER replace a std::string const& return value with std::string_view in the public API.
+
+
 ## ZLIB COMPATIBILITY
 
 The qpdf test suite is designed to be independent of the output of any
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index fdaf5ec9..538f9674 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ Contents
 ========
 
 - [Always](#always)
+- [In Progress](#in-progress)
 - [Next](#next)
 - [Possible future JSON enhancements](#possible-future-json-enhancements)
 - [QPDFJob](#qpdfjob)
@@ -26,6 +27,28 @@ Always
 * When close to release, make sure external-libs is building and follow instructions in
   ../external-libs/README
 
+In Progress
+===========
+
+Modernize qpdf
+--------------
+
+Update code to make use of the facilities provided by C++17. In particular, replace early qpdf C-style code
+with modern equivalent. Key updates are:
+
+* use the standard library where appropriate
+* replace C-strings with std::string or std::string_view
+* replace raw pointer with smart pointers or standard library containers
+* replace std::string const& with std::string_view where appropriate
+* replace std::shared_ptr with std::unique_ptr or references to the underlying object where appropriate
+
+Next steps are:
+
+* review function signatures in the public API
+* replace code that uses QUtil::make_shared_cstr etc
+
+Except for the above, prefer to make modernization changes as part of other updates.
+
 Next
 ====