Memory by Amelia Gesheva, Deputy Minister of Culture

...The whole team of the Ministry of Culture had worked with Snejana Ianeva for long years before I became Deputy Minister. I would like to tell something personal, because I think that everyone should share personal experiences. For the first time I heard the name Snejana Ianeva at thе moment when the sign boards, directing to the libraries, had to be placed. At that time I was working at the Plovdiv Municipality... and we were wondering where to put those sign boards to direct the citizens toward the library.

Snejana Ianeva explained over the phone why it was important to make people find the way to the library. When I became Deputy Minister I met her in person for the first time. Sneja rushed into my office with the dignity she had, with the temperament and emotion to fight a battle with the state, with everybody, so that we can ensure better working conditions for the libraries and librarians, how to make more books available, how libraries should become open places, where children and adults find personal satisfaction. I will confess that I am not a person from the library circles, but if anyone taught me how important the library is, Sneja is one of them. The changes of the Library Law started last year. Believe me, for two years work at the Ministry of Culture there never was such a thorough discussion on every article of the law regarding how we could continue to ensure better conditions, better qualification of librarians, how to create more opportunities of the libraries themselves. The discussions were long and sometimes we were on the brink of giving up but then we started again.

...I know that there are numerous initiatives, which have to be continued. If Sneja is watching us from above, with certainty she is somewhere here, she would point a finger and say: “Continue! Thus you will keep my memory alive!” ...

For the complete memory see “Video” section