BLIA MARKS THE ANNIVERSARY AT ITS XXXI NATIONAL CONFERENCE

The Bulgarian Library and Information Association as a co-organizer in celebrating the 70th anniversary, held a Meeting of Commemoration of Snejana Ianeva during its Annual National Conference, which took place in Burgas on 14th and 15th of October 2021.

Colleagues and friends spoke that the lifelong work and mission of Snejana will have followers now and in the future not only among the people who have worked with her, but in all libraries, because she changed the understanding of the role of the contemporary Bulgarian library as one that combines the rich cultural traditions with technology, innovations and the best practices from around the world. Her colleagues, who specialized abroad under her guidance spoke first.
The President of BLIA, associate professor Dr. AnetaDoncheva talked about her specialization in the USA and of Sneja as a very caring person and a professional, who did not shy away from controversy.As a longtime leader of BLIA and the Global Libraries Foundation, Sneja would carry discussions until good solutions were found and agreed upon, always remaining on friendly terms with all disputants. She knew how to unite people to work for good causes.
Associate professor Dr. Kalina Ivanova, Director of Turnovo Regional Library, member of the BLIA Board and the deputy director Dr. Ivan Alexandrov said that they specialized in Europe and in the US as did others from their library.The result was their own professional development and the implementation of contemporary library management and technology in the library, which Snejana encouraged.Thanks to her they also have many friends in libraries abroad and exchange information and experience.
DimiterMinev, Director of Plovdiv Regional Library and member of the Board of BLIA pointed out the support of Snejana for the needs of his library and the building of an American Center with donations of books and technology from the USA. I is now a hub for events and meetings of young people and attracts new readers.
Especially moving were the words of NadejdaGrueva, member of the BLIA Board, who shared that after returning from training in the US, she felt she can do things she considered impossible before. With that self-confidence and hard work, she moved from being the director of a small library in her city to taking the responsibilities of the Director of the Regional Library in Stara Zagora and worked on many projects with Snejana.
Of Sneja’s sense of humor, lighthearted jokes, her skills to work not only with her mind, but also putting all her heart in the work, many told funny stories of shared experiences.
Other library specialists remembered the erudite and good-doer Snejana Ianeva, who cared not only for the libraries, but most importantly for the people who worked there and those who came to use the library services. They spoke that Sneja was able to face any difficulty and during the times of crisis in the economy to find financial support and other resources, so libraries would continue to work. Her best practices guide them in the present-day pandemic crisis and will inspire the future librarians, that is why it is important to share information and memories of her.
Dr. Emilia Ianeva, founder of the Memorial Fund “Snejana Ianeva” expressed gratitude to allSnejana’s colleagues and friends in Bulgaria and around the world, who for more than a year have been writing her Memorial Internet Site, sharing memories. The Memorial Fund will exist as long as the library guild of Bulgaria needs to remember the mission of a patriot like Snejana Ianeva. All her very successful efforts were for the benefit of Bulgarian culture and libraries, without asking or receiving anything for herself. She opened opportunities for others, made sure that their efforts were acknowledged and awarded.