Map books are commonly used by tow truck drivers, police officers, delivery drivers and people who have recently moved to a new city and need to find their way around easily. A map book has two parts: a table of contents listing the name of every street in the covered area and the actual maps. Maps in the book are listed in numerical page order, but the area covered on the page corresponds to a grid. The grid is formulated using numbers on one axis and letters on the other.
Step One
Look up the street name in the map book table of contents.
Step Two
If you have the street number find the page number that corresponds to that address. Many streets are very long, so if you have the street number you can find the closest cross street to your destination. This prevents driving for miles searching for the correct block number.
Step Three
Write down the page and grid numbers for your street address.
Step Four
Navigate to the page number you just wrote down.
Step Five
Use the grid numbers to find the area where your street address is located on the map. If the grid numbers are G-5, then find G on one side of the map. Place your finger there. Find “5” on the other side of the map. Starting at the G column, trace your finger over the page until you reach the “5” column. Your street address will be contained within the grid square where the two meet on the map.