HUNTSVILLE – The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library is sponsoring an initiative for girls to enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

(CONTRIBUTED)

The library is implementing a local chapter of the National Girls Collaborative Project, which maximizes shared resources for projects within public- and private-sector organizations and institutions that encourage girls’ participation in STEM.

An informational meeting for the Huntsville Girls Collaborative Project will be held on Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. in the second-floor meeting room of the library’s main branch, 915 Monroe St. in Huntsville.

“The vision of the National Girls Collaborative Project is to bring together organizations throughout the United States that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue STEM careers,” library youth services coordinator Mandy Pinyan said.

The Huntsville chapter is the first one in Alabama. The project has 3,000 affiliate organizations and is funded primarily by the National Science Foundation.

“We invite program managers, guidance counselors, business partners, technical professionals, teachers and representatives from professional organizations and higher education to join us at the Dec. 9 meeting,” Pinyan said. “This initiative will provide mini-grants, professional development and other resources to project participants.”

The project strives to serve under-represented girls in STEM by sharing promising practice research and program models, outcomes and products. In addition, the effort can maximize access for school counselors serving grades K-12 “to use relevant, high-quality resources that increase awareness of barriers to girls’ interest and engagement in STEM,” Pinyan said.

The National Girls Collaborative Project encourages professional development, which focuses on sustainability, organizational effectiveness and shared leadership to more effectively deliver services to STEM organizations that assist girls.

To register for the local meeting, visit ngcproject.org/alabama-girls-collaborative-project-informational-meeting. A map to the library’s main branch is available at hmcpl.org.

For more information, email to afoster@edlabgroup.org or visit ngcproject.org.