This article focuses on the user-friendliness of lexical information sources. Whereas our previous study on user-friendliness (Euralex 1998) emphasized the context-sensitive needs of dictionary users, our present study goes one step further and suggests that it would be possible to compile interactive lexical databases that would be both context- and user-sensitive. We approach the function of lexical databases from two perspectives: from their role as primary information sources and from their role as lexical interfaces to other knowledge bases. Our approach is generally based on frame-semantics.We apply semantic frames to capture the different ways of conceptualization used when searching a knowledge base for social and health care services.