TRU Library Makerspace
At Thompson Rivers University, I run the Library Makerspace, an active learning space for students, staff, and faculty. Its purpose is to help people become confident lifelong learners with agency over information and technology. We support that through hands-on, self-directed learning, with access to equipment and materials, equipment lending, workshops, and help from staff and student ambassadors.
Many technology spaces are built around expensive tools for people who already know how to use them; our space is built for anyone who walks through the door. Projects can be personal as well as course-related, and we encourage learners to begin with what they already know—from baking and sewing to repairing dirt bikes—and use that experience to approach something new. Someone might come to make an object, learn a skill, tell a story, or explore alongside others. Belonging is part of the work: people should feel that their interests and existing knowledge matter here.