diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 2840317..e4cb4aa 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -51,47 +51,65 @@
 + Make sure you have a [JIRA account](https://issues.apache.org/jira/).
 + Make sure you have a [GitHub account](https://github.com/signup/free).
 + If you're planning to implement a new feature it makes sense to discuss you're changes on the [dev list](https://commons.apache.org/mail-lists.html) first. This way you can make sure you're not wasting your time on something that isn't considered to be in Apache Commons Text's scope.
-+ Submit a ticket for your issue, assuming one does not already exist.
++ Submit a [Jira Ticket][jira] for your issue, assuming one does not already exist.
   + Clearly describe the issue including steps to reproduce when it is a bug.
   + Make sure you fill in the earliest version that you know has the issue.
-+ Fork the repository on GitHub.
++ Find the corresponding [repository on GitHub](https://github.com/apache/?query=commons-),
+[fork](https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo/) and check out your forked repository.
 
 Making Changes
 --------------
 
-+ Create a topic branch from where you want to base your work (this is usually the master/trunk branch).
++ Create a _topic branch_ for your isolated work.
+  * Usually you should base your branch on the `master` or `trunk` branch.
+  * A good topic branch name can be the JIRA bug id plus a keyword, e.g. `TEXT-123-InputStream`.
+  * If you have submitted multiple JIRA issues, try to maintain separate branches and pull requests.
 + Make commits of logical units.
+  * Make sure your commit messages are meaningful and in the proper format. Your commit message should contain the key of the JIRA issue.
+  * e.g. `TEXT-123: Close input stream earlier`
 + Respect the original code style:
   + Only use spaces for indentation.
-  + Create minimal diffs - disable on save actions like reformat source code or organize imports. If you feel the source code should be reformatted create a separate PR for this change.
-  + Check for unnecessary whitespace with git diff --check before committing.
-+ Make sure your commit messages are in the proper format. Your commit message should contain the key of the JIRA issue.
-+ Make sure you have added the necessary tests for your changes.
+  + Create minimal diffs - disable _On Save_ actions like _Reformat Source Code_ or _Organize Imports_. If you feel the source code should be reformatted create a separate PR for this change first.
+  + Check for unnecessary whitespace with `git diff` -- check before committing.
++ Make sure you have added the necessary tests for your changes, typically in `src/test/java`.
 + Run all the tests with `mvn clean verify` to assure nothing else was accidentally broken.
 
 Making Trivial Changes
 ----------------------
 
+The JIRA tickets are used to generate the changelog for the next release.
+
 For changes of a trivial nature to comments and documentation, it is not always necessary to create a new ticket in JIRA.
 In this case, it is appropriate to start the first line of a commit with '(doc)' instead of a ticket number.
 
+
 Submitting Changes
 ------------------
 
-+ Sign the [Contributor License Agreement][cla] if you haven't already.
++ Sign and submit the Apache [Contributor License Agreement][cla] if you haven't already.
+  * Note that small patches & typical bug fixes do not require a CLA as
+    clause 5 of the [Apache License](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html#contributions)
+    covers them.
 + Push your changes to a topic branch in your fork of the repository.
-+ Submit a pull request to the repository in the apache organization.
++ Submit a _Pull Request_ to the corresponding repository in the `apache` organization.
+  * Verify _Files Changed_ shows only your intended changes and does not
+  include additional files like `target/*.class`
 + Update your JIRA ticket and include a link to the pull request in the ticket.
 
+If you prefer to not use GitHub, then you can instead use
+`git format-patch` (or `svn diff`) and attach the patch file to the JIRA issue.
+
+
 Additional Resources
 --------------------
 
 + [Contributing patches](https://commons.apache.org/patches.html)
-+ [Apache Commons Text JIRA project page](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/TEXT)
++ [Apache Commons Text JIRA project page][jira]
 + [Contributor License Agreement][cla]
 + [General GitHub documentation](https://help.github.com/)
 + [GitHub pull request documentation](https://help.github.com/send-pull-requests/)
 + [Apache Commons Twitter Account](https://twitter.com/ApacheCommons)
-+ #apachecommons IRC channel on freenode.org
++ `#apache-commons` IRC channel on `irc.freenode.net`
 
 [cla]:https://www.apache.org/licenses/#clas
+[jira]:https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/TEXT
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f123235..efec318 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,106 +1,105 @@
-<!---
- Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
- contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
- this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
- The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
- (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
- the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
-
-      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-
- Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- limitations under the License.
--->
-<!---
- +======================================================================+
- |****                                                              ****|
- |****      THIS FILE IS GENERATED BY THE COMMONS BUILD PLUGIN      ****|
- |****                    DO NOT EDIT DIRECTLY                      ****|
- |****                                                              ****|
- +======================================================================+
- | TEMPLATE FILE: readme-md-template.md                                 |
- | commons-build-plugin/trunk/src/main/resources/commons-xdoc-templates |
- +======================================================================+
- |                                                                      |
- | 1) Re-generate using: mvn commons:readme-md                          |
- |                                                                      |
- | 2) Set the following properties in the component's pom:              |
- |    - commons.componentid (required, alphabetic, lower case)          |
- |    - commons.release.version (required)                              |
- |                                                                      |
- | 3) Example Properties                                                |
- |                                                                      |
- |  <properties>                                                        |
- |    <commons.componentid>math</commons.componentid>                   |
- |    <commons.release.version>1.2</commons.release.version>            |
- |  </properties>                                                       |
- |                                                                      |
- +======================================================================+
---->
-Apache Commons Text
-===================
-
-[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/apache/commons-text.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/apache/commons-text)
-[![Coverage Status](https://coveralls.io/repos/github/apache/commons-text/badge.svg?branch=master)](https://coveralls.io/github/apache/commons-text?branch=master)
-[![License](http://img.shields.io/:license-apache-blue.svg)](http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html)
-
-Apache Commons Text is a library focused on algorithms working on strings.
-
-Documentation
--------------
-
-More information can be found on the [homepage](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-text).
-The [JavaDoc](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-text/javadocs/api-release) can be browsed.
-Questions related to the usage of Apache Commons Text should be posted to the [user mailing list][ml].
-
-Where can I get the latest release?
------------------------------------
-
-There have not been any official releases yet.
-
-<!---
-You can download source and binaries from our [download page](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-text/download_text.cgi).
-
-Alternatively you can pull it from the central Maven repositories:
-
-```xml
-<dependency>
-  <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
-  <artifactId>commons-text</artifactId>
-  <version>0.1</version>
-</dependency>
-```
---->
-Contributing
-------------
-
-We accept PRs via github. The [developer mailing list][ml] is the main channel of communication for contributors.
-There are some guidelines which will make applying PRs easier for us:
-+ No tabs! Please use spaces for indentation.
-+ Respect the code style.
-+ Create minimal diffs - disable on save actions like reformat source code or organize imports. If you feel the source code should be reformatted create a separate PR for this change.
-+ Provide JUnit tests for your changes and make sure your changes don't break any existing tests by running ```mvn clean test```.
-
-If you plan to contribute on a regular basis, please consider filing a [contributor license agreement](https://www.apache.org/licenses/#clas).
-You can learn more about contributing via GitHub in our [contribution guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md).
-
-License
--------
-Code is under the [Apache Licence v2](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.txt).
-
-Donations
----------
-You like Apache Commons Text? Then [donate back to the ASF](https://www.apache.org/foundation/contributing.html) to support the development.
-
-Additional Resources
---------------------
-
-+ [Apache Commons Homepage](https://commons.apache.org/)
-+ [Apache Bugtracker (JIRA)](https://issues.apache.org/jira/)
-+ [Apache Commons Twitter Account](https://twitter.com/ApacheCommons)
-+ #apachecommons IRC channel on freenode.org
-
-[ml]:https://commons.apache.org/mail-lists.html
+<!---
+ Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one or more
+ contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file distributed with
+ this work for additional information regarding copyright ownership.
+ The ASF licenses this file to You under the Apache License, Version 2.0
+ (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
+ the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+ Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ limitations under the License.
+-->
+<!---
+ +======================================================================+
+ |****                                                              ****|
+ |****      THIS FILE IS GENERATED BY THE COMMONS BUILD PLUGIN      ****|
+ |****                    DO NOT EDIT DIRECTLY                      ****|
+ |****                                                              ****|
+ +======================================================================+
+ | TEMPLATE FILE: readme-md-template.md                                 |
+ | commons-build-plugin/trunk/src/main/resources/commons-xdoc-templates |
+ +======================================================================+
+ |                                                                      |
+ | 1) Re-generate using: mvn commons:readme-md                          |
+ |                                                                      |
+ | 2) Set the following properties in the component's pom:              |
+ |    - commons.componentid (required, alphabetic, lower case)          |
+ |    - commons.release.version (required)                              |
+ |                                                                      |
+ | 3) Example Properties                                                |
+ |                                                                      |
+ |  <properties>                                                        |
+ |    <commons.componentid>math</commons.componentid>                   |
+ |    <commons.release.version>1.2</commons.release.version>            |
+ |  </properties>                                                       |
+ |                                                                      |
+ +======================================================================+
+--->
+Apache Commons Text
+===================
+
+[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/apache/commons-text.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/apache/commons-text)
+[![Coverage Status](https://coveralls.io/repos/apache/commons-text/badge.svg?branch=master)](https://coveralls.io/r/apache/commons-text)
+[![Maven Central](https://maven-badges.herokuapp.com/maven-central/org.apache.commons/commons-text/badge.svg)](https://maven-badges.herokuapp.com/maven-central/org.apache.commons/commons-text/)
+[![License](http://img.shields.io/:license-apache-blue.svg)](http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html)
+
+Apache Commons Text is a library focused on algorithms working on strings.
+
+Documentation
+-------------
+
+More information can be found on the [Apache Commons Text homepage](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-text).
+The [JavaDoc](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-text/javadocs/api-release) can be browsed.
+Questions related to the usage of Apache Commons Text should be posted to the [user mailing list][ml].
+
+Where can I get the latest release?
+-----------------------------------
+You can download source and binaries from our [download page](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-text/download_text.cgi).
+
+Alternatively you can pull it from the central Maven repositories:
+
+```xml
+<dependency>
+  <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
+  <artifactId>commons-text</artifactId>
+  <version>1.0-beta-1</version>
+</dependency>
+```
+
+Contributing
+------------
+
+We accept Pull Requests via GitHub. The [developer mailing list][ml] is the main channel of communication for contributors.
+There are some guidelines which will make applying PRs easier for us:
++ No tabs! Please use spaces for indentation.
++ Respect the code style.
++ Create minimal diffs - disable on save actions like reformat source code or organize imports. If you feel the source code should be reformatted create a separate PR for this change.
++ Provide JUnit tests for your changes and make sure your changes don't break any existing tests by running ```mvn clean test```.
+
+If you plan to contribute on a regular basis, please consider filing a [contributor license agreement](https://www.apache.org/licenses/#clas).
+You can learn more about contributing via GitHub in our [contribution guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md).
+
+License
+-------
+This code is under the [Apache Licence v2](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
+
+See the `NOTICE.txt` file for required notices and attributions.
+
+Donations
+---------
+You like Apache Commons Text? Then [donate back to the ASF](https://www.apache.org/foundation/contributing.html) to support the development.
+
+Additional Resources
+--------------------
+
++ [Apache Commons Homepage](https://commons.apache.org/)
++ [Apache Issue Tracker (JIRA)](https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/TEXT)
++ [Apache Commons Twitter Account](https://twitter.com/ApacheCommons)
++ `#apache-commons` IRC channel on `irc.freenode.org`
+
+[ml]:https://commons.apache.org/mail-lists.html
diff --git a/src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/checkstyle-suppressions.xml b/checkstyle-suppressions.xml
similarity index 100%
rename from src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/checkstyle-suppressions.xml
rename to checkstyle-suppressions.xml
diff --git a/src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/checkstyle.xml b/checkstyle.xml
similarity index 100%
rename from src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/checkstyle.xml
rename to checkstyle.xml
diff --git a/src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/fb-excludes.xml b/fb-excludes.xml
similarity index 100%
rename from src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/fb-excludes.xml
rename to fb-excludes.xml
diff --git a/src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/license-header.txt b/license-header.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/license-header.txt
rename to license-header.txt
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index af26b9d..a9ca17a 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -151,6 +151,8 @@
           <artifactId>apache-rat-plugin</artifactId>
           <configuration>
             <excludes>
+              <exclude>site-content/**</exclude>
+              <exclude>src/site/resources/download_lang.cgi</exclude>
               <exclude>src/test/resources/stringEscapeUtilsTestData.txt</exclude>
             </excludes>
           </configuration>
@@ -196,13 +198,13 @@
     <plugins>
       <plugin>
         <artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>2.13</version>
+        <version>2.17</version>
         <configuration>
           <enableRulesSummary>false</enableRulesSummary>
-          <configLocation>src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/checkstyle.xml</configLocation>
-          <headerLocation>${basedir}/src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/license-header.txt</headerLocation>
-          <suppressionsLocation>${basedir}/src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/checkstyle-suppressions.xml</suppressionsLocation>
-          <suppressionsFileExpression>${basedir}/src/main/resources/org/apache/commons/text/beta/checkstyle-suppressions.xml</suppressionsFileExpression>
+          <configLocation>checkstyle.xml</configLocation>
+          <headerLocation>license-header.txt</headerLocation>
+          <suppressionsLocation>checkstyle-suppressions.xml</suppressionsLocation>
+          <suppressionsFileExpression>checkstyle-suppressions.xml</suppressionsFileExpression>
         </configuration>
         <reportSets>
           <reportSet>