I believe the author was talking about her not knowing of any atlases for non-driving LA residents from the days before ubiquitous smartphones with GPS. I didn

I believe the author was talking about her not knowing of any atlases for non-driving LA residents from the days before ubiquitous smartphones with GPS. I didn’t drive during the decade I lived in LA, and I still had a Thomas Guide. Supplemented with bus route maps and the county’s route planning website, but the Guide was definitely still earning the space it took up in my backpack.