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If you're attending ALA in Los Angeles, you might
keep in mind that UC Santa Barbara is about
110 miles west of L.A.; so if you'd like to
tour the Map and Imagery Lab and seldom make it
out to the West coast, this might be a good
time.  If you're interested, let me know; I'll
inform each of you who else is interested,
so that you could perhaps carpool.
The 2 best ways to get from LA to SB are:
a. take the train (it's a beautiful trip; goes
through Santa Susana Pass, where all those
early Western movies were filmed)
b. rent a car; if you do this on a week day, the best times
to head west are probably between 9:30 and
11am, and after 7pm (afternoons before 3pm are
 doable if you're accustomed to heavy city
traffic.
Yes, SB has an airport, but the the distance
is so short from LA to SB that it's small planes
(I'd advise bringing earplugs if you go this
route).  United has direct connections to Denver,
San Francisco, and probably other places as
well; also, it's so close to LA that you
might be able to get a round-trip ticket
for close to same price as arriving at and
departing from LA.
Mary L. Larsgaard, Map & Imagery Lab, Library,
University of California, Santa Barbara 93106
[log in to unmask]; fax 805/893-8799