The libraries of the professional associations: the Genoan case

The analysis of Genoan libraries belonging to the professional associations offers the opportunity to refocus the attention on private specialized libraries. The book collections of the professional associations are made up of often underestimated and/or unexploited bibliographic heritages that, in most cases in Genoa, have gone missing. The paper highlights the critical aspects of a non-professionalized management that is not aware of the value represented by documentary materials of specific orientation that have settled over time. At the same time, the potentialities that such book collections could play in local and national documentary networks are assessed.