Dear Attendees of ASIST Conference,

        Here's some advice for preparing to come to Los Angeles, and how to get around once here.  I'm writing this for both U.S. and overseas visitors, so I may cover some things known to some of you.

        * Climate:  Summer starts and ends late on the entire U.S. West Coast.  In Southern California, that means that summer doesn't really end until the beginning of October, and even in later October, we might have quite warm weather.  So we may have weather ranging between about 65°-85°F  (19°-30°C) in the daytime.  All year round, evenings in California are almost always much cooler than the daytime, by as much as 20°-30°F (10°-15°C).   So plan for both cool and warm temperatures.  Rain isn't very common in October, but it is a possibility.

        The conference will be in an attractive section of Long Beach that is right by the ocean, and the climate is pleasant just about all year around.

        * Getting around the LA area:  For those of you accustomed to the relatively compact center cities of the East Coast or Europe, it's vital to understand that the Los Angeles/Long Beach area is very large and spread out.  The county contains just under 10,000,000 people, and covers 4,000 square miles.  That is half the size of the state of New Jersey, or a quarter the size of Switzerland.  That's more people, however, than are in all of New Jersey or Switzerland.

        The city of Los Angeles has just under 4 million people.  Long Beach is right next to the city of LA, but in such a densely populated area, it all looks like one continuous city.

        All this is by way of saying that it is unwise to think you'll just hop in a taxi to go from one part of the city or county to another.  You  have to be aware of whether you are going someplace truly nearby or not.  This is my guess, but it would probably cost about 50 dollars (45 euros) to go from Long Beach to downtown LA or Hollywood by taxi.   Sharing a taxi can cut costs, of course.  The distance to the LA airport is shorter.  Check with cabs and shuttlebuses about price.

        You can also go into central LA on the the "Blue Line," an above-ground subway train that ends close to the hotel in Long Beach.  In downtown LA, you can connect to subways that go to other parts of central LA, including Hollywood.

        If you have a day or two available and want to sightsee, the easiest way to do it is either to take organized tours, or to rent your own car.  The latter may sound difficult and expensive, but LA is, above all, an automobile city.  Public transportation other than the subways is slow and not nearly as frequent and easy to use as in many cities elsewhere. (And the subways are new and don't go all over  yet.)  The price of car rentals is not high  (40-50 dollars a day, or 35-40 euros), and you can go exactly where you want when you want.

        All those people mean traffic.  Other things being equal, try to avoid the morning and evening rush hours for freeway trips.

        As in all big cities, take precautions about protecting yourself and your possessions.

        * What the city is like:  LA is a world city, with over 120 languages spoken, many cultures, delicious ethnic food of every imaginable type, and many different customs.  Don't assume that anyone you are dealing with shares exactly your culture, that is, be explicit and unambiguous in stating what you want and expect.   The area of Long Beach that you will be in is pretty and upscale, and the hotel is near the water.  There is a path to walk along the water for a good distance, as well as shops, the aquarium, and other entertainments.

        Have a great time in Long Beach, and I look forward to seeing you!

                                Marcia Bates

                                Program Chair

-- 

Marcia J. Bates, Ph.D.
Professor
Dept. of Information Studies
230 GSEIS Building
Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1520 USA
Tel: 310-206-9353   Fax: 310-206-4460
Email: mjbates@ucla.edu

Web: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/

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