diff --git a/lisp/calendar/diary-icalendar.el b/lisp/calendar/diary-icalendar.el
index 42102291298..994258dedd4 100644
--- a/lisp/calendar/diary-icalendar.el
+++ b/lisp/calendar/diary-icalendar.el
@@ -24,8 +24,12 @@
 
 ;;; Commentary:
 
-;; This file is a replacement for icalendar.el that uses a new parser
-;; and offers more features.
+;; For an overview of the iCalendar library, see icalendar-shortdoc.el.
+
+;; This file is a replacement for the diary import/export features
+;; previously provided by icalendar.el.  It uses a new parser and offers
+;; more flexibility and features than the old implementation.  It is
+;; documented in the Emacs manual.
 
 ;;; Code:
 
diff --git a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-ast.el b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-ast.el
index cfbc6c7cac8..fc8f23a3a27 100644
--- a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-ast.el
+++ b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-ast.el
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 
 ;;; Commentary:
 
+;; For an overview of the iCalendar library, see icalendar-shortdoc.el.
+
 ;; This file defines the abstract syntax tree representation for
 ;; iCalendar data.  The AST is based on `org-element-ast' (which see;
 ;; that feature will eventually be renamed and moved out of the Org tree
diff --git a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-macs.el b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-macs.el
index 033fea94527..b216d8dc141 100644
--- a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-macs.el
+++ b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-macs.el
@@ -24,10 +24,19 @@
 
 ;;; Commentary:
 
-;; This file defines the macros `ical:define-type', `ical:define-param',
-;; `ical:define-property' and `ical:define-component', used in
-;; icalendar-parser.el to define the particular value types, parameters,
-;; properties and components in the standard as type symbols.
+;; For an overview of the iCalendar library, see icalendar-shortdoc.el.
+
+;; This file defines the macros `icalendar-define-type',
+;; `icalendar-define-param', `icalendar-define-property' and
+;; `icalendar-define-component', used in icalendar-parser.el to define
+;; the particular value types, parameters, properties and components in
+;; the standard as type symbols.  It also defines the following macros
+;; for binding values in iCalendar syntax nodes:
+;; `icalendar-with-component'
+;; `icalendar-with-property'
+;; `icalendar-with-property-of'
+;; `icalendar-with-param'
+;; `icalendar-with-param-of'
 
 ;; TODOs:
 ;;   - in the define* macros, :default needs rethinking.
diff --git a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-parser.el b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-parser.el
index a2ce4b2362f..86dbcff1ce3 100644
--- a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-parser.el
+++ b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-parser.el
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@
 
 ;;; Commentary:
 
+;; For an overview of the iCalendar library, see icalendar-shortdoc.el.
+
 ;; This file defines regular expressions, constants and functions that
 ;; implement the iCalendar grammar according to RFC5545.
 ;;
@@ -4350,7 +4352,7 @@ during printing will be logged in the buffer returned by
 
 ;;; High-level parsing and printing functions.
 (defun ical:parse (&optional buffer)
-  "Parse an `icalendar-vcalendar' object in BUFFER (default: current buffer).
+  "Parse an iCalendar VCALENDAR object in BUFFER (default: current buffer).
 
 An unfolded copy of BUFFER (see `icalendar-unfolded-buffer-from-buffer')
 will first be obtained if necessary.  Parsing will begin at the first
@@ -4359,9 +4361,9 @@ occurrence of \"BEGIN:VCALENDAR\" in the unfolded buffer.
 The buffer may be tidied up by user functions before parsing begins; see
 `icalendar-pre-unfolding-hook' and `icalendar-pre-parsing-hook'.
 
-If parsing is successful, the VCALENDAR object is returned.  Otherwise,
-nil is returned, a warning is issued, and errors are logged in the
-buffer returned by `icalendar-error-buffer'."
+If parsing is successful, an `icalendar-vcalendar' object is returned.
+Otherwise, nil is returned, a warning is issued, and errors are logged
+in the buffer returned by `icalendar-error-buffer'."
   (let* ((buf (or buffer (current-buffer)))
          (unfolded (cond ((ical:unfolded-p buf) buf)
                          ((buffer-file-name buf)
diff --git a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-recur.el b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-recur.el
index c01116fc5a7..cf751c83184 100644
--- a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-recur.el
+++ b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-recur.el
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 
 ;;; Commentary:
 
+;; For an overview of the iCalendar library, see icalendar-shortdoc.el.
+
 ;; This is a sub-library for working with recurrence rules and time
 ;; zones, as defined by RFC5545 (see especially Secs. 3.3.10 and
 ;; 3.8.5.3, which are required reading before you make any changes to
@@ -1387,7 +1389,7 @@ UTC offsets local to that time zone."
 
 (defun icr:recurrences-in-window-w/end-times
     (lower upper component &optional vtimezone)
-  "Like `icalendar-recurrences-in-window', but returns end times.
+  "Like `icalendar-recur-recurrences-in-window', but returns end times.
 
 The return value is a list of (START END) pairs representing the start
 and end time of each recurrence of COMPONENT in the window defined by
@@ -2111,7 +2113,7 @@ observance."
               (null dst-ends-time))))))
 
 (defun icr:current-tz-to-vtimezone (&optional tz tzid start-year)
-  "Convert TZ to an `icalendar-vtimezone'.
+  "Convert TZ (default: current time zone) to an `icalendar-vtimezone'.
 
 TZ defaults to the output of `calendar-current-time-zone'; if specified,
 it should be a list of the same form as that function returns.
diff --git a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-shortdoc.el b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-shortdoc.el
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ef6f23cdfb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-shortdoc.el
@@ -0,0 +1,273 @@
+;;; icalendar-shortdoc.el --- Short documentation for iCalendar  -*- lexical-binding: t; -*-
+
+;; Copyright (C) 2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+;; Author: Richard Lawrence <rwl@recursewithless.net>
+;; Created: April 2026
+;; Keywords: calendar, help
+;; Human-Keywords: calendar, iCalendar
+
+;; This file is part of GNU Emacs.
+
+;; This file is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+;; it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+;; the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+;; (at your option) any later version.
+
+;; This file is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+;; but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+;; MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+;; GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+;; You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+;; along with this file.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+;;; Commentary:
+
+;; This file defines a short documentation group for the main functions
+;; of the iCalendar API.  It does not aim to cover every function in the
+;; library; it is a guide to the high-level functions for Lisp
+;; programmers who want to interpret or produce iCalendar data.
+
+;; To read this documentation, do:
+;; M-x load-libraray RET icalendar-shortdoc RET
+;; M-x shortdoc RET icalendar RET
+
+
+;;; Code:
+(require 'shortdoc)
+(require 'icalendar-macs)
+(require 'icalendar-parser)
+(require 'icalendar-utils)
+(require 'icalendar-ast)
+(require 'icalendar-recur)
+
+(define-short-documentation-group icalendar
+  "Parsing and printing VCALENDAR objects"
+  (icalendar-parse
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval* (icalendar-parse)
+   :result-string "(icalendar-vcalendar ...)")
+  (icalendar-parse-and-index
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval* (icalendar-parse-and-index)
+   :result (vcalendar index))
+  (icalendar-index-get
+   :args (index &rest kwargs)
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval (icalendar-index-get index :uid "some-event-UID")
+   :eg-result-string "(icalendar-vevent ...)"
+   :no-eval (icalendar-index-get index :date '(5 28 2026))
+   :eg-result-string "((icalendar-vevent ...) ...)"
+   :no-eval (icalendar-index-get index :tzid "Europe/Vienna")
+   :eg-result-string "(icalendar-vtimezone ...)")
+  (icalendar-parse-from-string
+   :no-eval
+   (icalendar-parse-from-string 'icalendar-rrule "RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY\n")
+   :result-string "(icalendar-rrule ...)")
+  (icalendar-print-calendar-node
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval (icalendar-print-calendar-node vcalendar)
+   :result "BEGIN:VCALENDAR...")
+  "Constructing syntax nodes"
+  (icalendar-make-vcalendar
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-make-vcalendar
+   some-vtimezone
+   (@ list-of-vevents)
+   ...)"
+   :result-string "(icalendar-vcalendar ...)")
+  (icalendar-make-vevent
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-make-vevent
+   (icalendar-summary \"Party\")
+   (icalendar-location \"Robot House\")
+   (icalendar-organizer \"mailto:bender@mars.edu\"
+      (icalendar-cnparam \"Bender B. Rodriguez\"))
+   (icalendar-attendee  \"mailto:philip.j.fry@mars.edu\"
+      (icalendar-partstatparam \"ACCEPTED\"))
+   (icalendar-dtstart '(3 13 3003))
+   (icalendar-rrule '((FREQ MONTHLY))))"
+   :result-string "(icalendar-vevent ...)")
+  (icalendar-make-vtodo
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-make-vtodo
+   (icalendar-summary \"Sell another doomsday device\")
+   (icalendar-description \"Need funds for electronium hat experiment.\")
+   (icalendar-due '(6 6 3002)))"
+   :result-string "(icalendar-vtodo ...)")
+  (icalendar-make-vjournal
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-make-vjournal
+   (icalendar-summary \"Results: Electronium Hat Experiment\")
+   (icalendar-description \"How do you like them bananas?\")
+   (icalendar-dtstart '(8 6 3002)))"
+   :result-string "(icalendar-vjournal ...)")
+  "Binding values in syntax nodes"
+  (icalendar-with-component
+      :args (node bindings &rest body)
+    :no-manual t
+    :no-eval
+    "(icalendar-with-component vevent
+     ((icalendar-summary :value summary)
+      (icalendar-location :value location))
+    (format \"%s @ %s\" summary location))"
+    :eg-result "Party @ Robot House")
+  (icalendar-with-property
+      :args (node bindings &rest body)
+    :no-manual t
+    :no-eval "(icalendar-with-property location-node nil
+    (downcase value))"
+    :eg-result "robot house")
+  (icalendar-with-property-of
+      :args (component property-type bindings &rest body)
+      :no-manual t
+      :no-eval
+      "(icalendar-with-property-of vevent 'icalendar-location nil
+    (downcase value))"
+      :eg-result "robot house")
+  (icalendar-with-param
+      :args (parameter &rest body)
+      :no-manual t
+      :no-eval "(icalendar-with-param cnparam-node
+    (upcase value))"
+      :eg-result "BENDER B. RODRIGUEZ")
+  (icalendar-with-param-of
+      :args (property param-type &rest body)
+    :no-manual t
+    :no-eval "(icalendar-with-param-of organizer-node 'icalendar-cnparam
+    (upcase value))"
+    :eg-result "BENDER B. RODRIGUEZ")
+  "Time zones"
+  (icalendar-recur-current-tz-to-vtimezone
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval (icalendar-recur-current-tz-to-vtimezone)
+   :result-string "(icalendar-vtimezone ...)")
+  (icalendar-recur-tz-decode-time
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval (icalendar-recur-tz-decode-time timestamp vtimezone)
+   :eg-result (0 0 11 11 11 2024 1 nil 3600))
+  (icalendar-recur-tz-set-zone
+   :no-eval (icalendar-recur-tz-set-zone '(0 0 11 11 11 2024 1 -1 nil) vtimezone)
+   :eg-result (0 0 11 11 11 2024 1 nil 3600))
+  "Dates and date-times"
+  (icalendar-make-date-time
+   :no-manual t
+   :args (&rest kwargs)
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-make-date-time :year 2024 :month 12 :day 11
+                            :hour 10 :minute 0 :second 0
+                            :tz vtimezone)"
+   :eg-result (0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 -1 3600))
+  (icalendar-date/time<=
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time<= '(12 15 2024) '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval "(icalendar-date/time<= '(0 0 8 11 11 2024 1 nil 3600)
+                         '(0 0 10 11 11 2024 3 nil 3600))"
+   :no-manual t)
+  (icalendar-date/time<
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time< '(12 15 2024) '(12 15 2024)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-min
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-min '(12 15 2024) '(11 15 2024) '(12 1 2024))
+   :eval
+   "(icalendar-date/time-min '(0 0 8 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)
+                           '(0 0 9 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)
+                           '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600))")
+  (icalendar-date/time-max
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-max '(12 15 2024) '(11 15 2024) '(12 1 2024))
+   :eval
+   "(icalendar-date/time-max '(0 0 8 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)
+                           '(0 0 9 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)
+                           '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600))")
+  (icalendar-date/time-add
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-add '(11 11 2024) :month 2)
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-add '(0 0 10 11 11 2024 1 -1 nil) :hour -3))
+  (icalendar-date/time-add-duration
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval "(icalendar-date/time-add-duration '(12 11 2024)
+    (make-decoded-time :day 4))"
+   :eval "(icalendar-date/time-add-duration '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 -1 nil)
+    (make-decoded-time :hour 2 :minute 30))")
+  (icalendar-date/time-year
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-year '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-year '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-month
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-month '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-month '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-monthday
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-monthday '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-monthday '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-weekday
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-weekday '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-weekday '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-weekno
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-weekno '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-weekno '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-hour
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-hour '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-hour '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-minute
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-minute '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-minute '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-second
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-second '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-second '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  (icalendar-date/time-zone
+   :no-manual t
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-zone '(12 11 2024))
+   :eval (icalendar-date/time-zone '(0 0 10 11 12 2024 3 nil 3600)))
+  "Recurrence rules and recurrences"
+  (icalendar-recur-recurrences-in-window
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-recur-recurrences-in-window '(1 1 2026) '(12 31 2026)
+                                          vevent)"
+   :eg-result-string "((1 10 2026) (2 10 2026) ...)")
+  (icalendar-recur-recurrences-in-window-w/end-times
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-recur-recurrences-in-window-w/end-times
+     '(0 0 0 1 1 2026 4 -1 nil) '(0 0 0 1 2 2026 1 -1 nil)
+     vevent)"
+   :eg-result-string
+   "(((0 0 10 10 1 2026 4 -1 nil) (0 0 11 10 1 2026 4 -1 nil)) ...)")
+  (icalendar-recur-recurrences-to-count
+   :no-manual t
+   :no-eval
+   "(icalendar-recur-recurrences-to-count '(1 1 2026) '(12 31 2026)
+                                          vevent)"
+   :eg-result-string "((1 10 2026) (2 10 2026) (3 10 2026))")
+  (icalendar-recur-freq
+   :eval
+   (icalendar-recur-freq '((FREQ MONTHLY) (INTERVAL 3) (BYDAY ((5 . -1))))))
+  (icalendar-recur-interval-size
+   :eval (icalendar-recur-interval-size '((FREQ MONTHLY) (BYDAY ((5 . -1)))))
+   :eval (icalendar-recur-interval-size '((FREQ MONTHLY) (INTERVAL 3))))
+  (icalendar-recur-count
+   :eval (icalendar-recur-count '((FREQ MONTHLY) (INTERVAL 2) (COUNT 6))))
+  (icalendar-recur-until
+   :eval (icalendar-recur-until '((FREQ WEEKLY) (UNTIL (12 31 2026)))))
+  (icalendar-recur-by*
+   :eval (icalendar-recur-by* 'BYDAY '((FREQ MONTHLY) (BYDAY ((5 . -1))))))
+  (icalendar-recur-weekstart
+   :eval
+   (icalendar-recur-weekstart '((FREQ WEEKLY) (UNTIL (12 31 2026)) (WKST 0)))
+   :eval
+   (icalendar-recur-weekstart '((FREQ WEEKLY) (UNTIL (12 31 2026))))))
+
+(provide 'icalendar-shortdoc)
diff --git a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-utils.el b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-utils.el
index e877cb85637..565901940f0 100644
--- a/lisp/calendar/icalendar-utils.el
+++ b/lisp/calendar/icalendar-utils.el
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 
 ;;; Commentary:
 
+;; For an overview of the iCalendar library, see icalendar-shortdoc.el.
+
 ;; This file contains a variety of utility functions to work with
 ;; iCalendar data which are used throughout the rest of the iCalendar
 ;; library.  Most of the functions here deal with calendar and clock
diff --git a/lisp/calendar/icalendar.el b/lisp/calendar/icalendar.el
index 4956dc82f09..d439d4ed2e3 100644
--- a/lisp/calendar/icalendar.el
+++ b/lisp/calendar/icalendar.el
@@ -27,21 +27,13 @@
 ;;; Commentary:
 
 ;; Most of the code in this file is now obsolete and has been marked as such.
+;; For an overview of the new iCalendar library, see icalendar-shortdoc.el.
 ;; For the new implementation of diary import/export, see diary-icalendar.el.
 ;; Error handling code, global variables, and user options relevant for the
 ;; entire iCalendar library remain in this file.
 
-;; This package is documented in the Emacs Manual.
+;; The diary-icalendar feature is documented in the Emacs Manual.
 
-;;   Please note:
-;; - Diary entries which have a start time but no end time are assumed to
-;;   last for one hour when they are exported.
-;; - Weekly diary entries are assumed to occur the first time in the first
-;;   week of the year 2000 when they are exported.
-;; - Yearly diary entries are assumed to occur the first time in the year
-;;   1900 when they are exported.
-;; - Float diary entries are assumed to occur the first time on the
-;;   day when they are exported.
 
 ;;; History: