This compilation of papers presented at the sixteenth annual Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing presents 13 papers on the library within the context of technological developments in publishing and related facets of human communication. Instead of focusing on library automation per se, the contributors have chosen to look at various manifestations of electronic communication in the world around us including electronic publications, computer conferencing, and electronic mail, to consider present and probable future capabilities of electronic processing and, most importantly, to study the implications of these developments for libraries and librarians. The papers have been prepared for the most part by leaders in fields outside of librarianship itself. The presentations were planned to dovetail with, and form an integral part of an ongoing research project funded by the National Science Foundation, which relates to the impact of a "paperless society" on the research library of the future. The papers are intended to stimulate further thought, within the profession and beyond, on the implications for libraries of the evolution from a largely paper-based society to a society whose communications will be largely electronics-based. The collection includes brief biographical sketches of the contributors and an index. (Author/RAA)