diff --git a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-qa-checks.xml b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-qa-checks.xml
index e17fc2c216..16203e6dbf 100644
--- a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-qa-checks.xml
+++ b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-qa-checks.xml
@@ -735,7 +735,8 @@
                 picked up as the provider for a common library.
                 If that is the case, you should add the library's
                 <filename>.so</filename> file name to
-                <filename>PRIVATE_LIBS</filename> in the recipe that provides
+                <link linkend='var-PRIVATE_LIBS'><filename>PRIVATE_LIBS</filename></link>
+                in the recipe that provides
                 the private version of the library.
                 </para></listitem>
         </itemizedlist>
diff --git a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
index d7f6a8bfb1..cd235e633e 100644
--- a/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
+++ b/documentation/ref-manual/ref-variables.xml
@@ -6133,7 +6133,39 @@ recipes-graphics/xorg-font/font-alias_1.0.3.bb:PR = "${INC_PR}.3"
             </glossdef>
         </glossentry>
 
-        <glossentry id='var-PROVIDES'><glossterm>PROVIDES</glossterm>
+        <glossentry id='var-PRIVATE_LIBS'><glossterm>PRIVATE_LIBS</glossterm>
+            <glossdef>
+                <para>
+                    Specifies libraries installed within a recipe that
+                    should be ignored by the OpenEmbedded build system's
+                    shared library resolver.
+                    This variable is typically used when software being
+                    built by a recipe has its own private versions of a
+                    library normally provided by another recipe.
+                    In this case, you would not want the package containing
+                    the private libraries to be set as a dependency on other
+                    unrelated packages that should instead depend on the
+                    package providing the standard version of the library.
+                </para>
+
+                <para>
+                    Libraries specified in this variable should be specified
+                    by their file name.
+                    For example, from the Firefox recipe in meta-browser:
+                    <literallayout class='monospaced'>
+     PRIVATE_LIBS = "libmozjs.so \
+                     libxpcom.so \
+                     libnspr4.so \
+                     libxul.so \
+                     libmozalloc.so \
+                     libplc4.so \
+                     libplds4.so"
+                    </literallayout>
+                </para>
+            </glossdef>
+        </glossentry>
+
+       <glossentry id='var-PROVIDES'><glossterm>PROVIDES</glossterm>
             <glossdef>
                 <para>
                     A list of aliases that a recipe also provides.