Navigation app goes live in Singapore library

Singapore’s National Library Board (NLB) has gone live with Waymap, the personal navigation app that works indoors, outdoors and underground to make spaces more accessible.

Waymap is available for library-goers to use at Punggol Regional Library, in the northeast of Singapore Island, which is the largest library in Singapore and the newest of the NLB’s four key regional libraries.

Inclusivity and accessibility

Standing five storeys tall, Punggol Regional Library opened in 2023 and has a strong focus on accessibility, with accessible collections, features such as calm pods, and also assistive technology devices, such as keyboards with large print keys. It has an entire floor devoted to technology with facilities for 3D printing, robotics and digital cutting that can be used by NLB members.

The go-live is the latest step in Waymap’s Singapore roll-out, which has already seen the app become available at Sam Kee Light Rail Transit station and Punggol Mass Rapid Transport station, both of which are within a short walk of Punggol library.

“Libraries are a new and exciting use case for Waymap. They are a classic example of an indoor public space that the Waymap app can make much more accessible for users and staff”

Waymap is also up and running at Tampines Bus Interchange and Tampines Mass Rapid Transit station, in the east of the island.

The app provides accessible step-by-step instructions via audio and on-screen. It works using the motion sensors in a phone, AI-powered algorithms and digital maps, and doesn’t need any external equipment. It adapts to the individual user and claims to get better with every use.