Memory by Iliyana Mitropolitska from the Library of Congress

SNEJANA IANEVA – A WOMAN OF THE WORLD Snejana Ianeva was a cosmopolitan, a truly remarkable woman of the world with an organizational talent and creativity demonstrated in her work and accomplishments. I got to know her first in absentia, back in 2009, when my work at the Library of Congress led me to her as the Director of The American Information and Resource Center at the US Embassy in Sofia. Our contacts were strengthened when we met in person in 2009. We found many common cultural interests and soon realized that besides our official contacts we had developed friendly relations. Here is an example of how Mrs. Snejana Ianeva demonstrated that nothing is impossible when there is a clear goal and a desire to achieve success. In 2009 the regular elections for new Presidents of the American Library Association (ALA) took place. Mrs. Roberta Stevens was elected. She worked at the Library of Congress at the time, and I was fortunate to know her as a colleague reasonably well. And so, one day my work phone rang, and I heard Snejana’s voice. After the usual greetings she went straight to the point. “Do you know Roberta Stevens, the future President of the American Library Association?” I confessed right away that I knew her. Snejana asked me directly whether Roberta would agree to visit Bulgaria. “Well, I have to ask her” I replied. “I will give you a phone number to talk with her, but first I need to contact her”. Snejana knew the protocol perfectly well but responded that it is better if I personally asked Roberta whether she would accept an invitation by the US Embassy in Sofia. From then on everything was arranged very quickly and Roberta was on her way to Sofia. Snejana had planned a wonderful program. Roberta was even invited to the Bulgarian Parliament, where she promoted the role of libraries in the world and in the US. I will never forget the respect with which Roberta talked about Snejana after her visit to Bulgaria. Our beloved Mrs. Snejana Ianeva was a highly organized and effective person. Everything was possible for her, there were no national boundaries and unreachable personalities. She was a person of action and sharp and fast thinking. Bulgaria lost a remarkable figure in its culture and library work, a wonderful woman who changed for the better the thinking of so many people and colleagues. May she always be remembered! Iliana Mitropoltska Washington DC, September 2021