Computer-based literature searches rely heavily on an information professional (IP) who must meet with the client or information needer (IN) in a pre-search interview, transform the client's request into appropriate vocabulary of terms and system commands, and in some cases help the client develop a clear understanding and statement of what information is actually needed. However, we know very little about how the actions of IPs facilitate or impede the exchange of information between IN and IP. We will 1) identify verbal behaviors of IPs and INs that facilitate or impede information exchange in the pre-search interview, 2) identify tasks that should be accomplished by IPs in order to optimize information exchange in the pre-search interview, 3) develop and test two methods of objectively evaluating the performance of IPs in pre-search interviews, and 4) compare the objective evaluations of the pre-search interview with the subjective evaluations by both IPs and INs. Videotaping of at least sixty pre-search interviews in several settings and intensive "de-briefing" of both INs and IPs will provide the data for our analysis and identification of behaviors and tasks.