Conservator, Private practice
Noah graduated from West Dean College in autumn 2015 and returned to the United States.
He now works in private practice in the United States, having previously worked for the Smithsonian Libraries as a conservator. The Smithsonian Libraries' Adopt-a-Book program allows donors to adopt books selected by the librarians and preservation staff, which pays for the book to be conserved. By the summer of 2016 the programme had become so successful that the Preservation Department could no longer handle the additional workflow.
Noah was appointed to the post of Adopt-a-Book Conservator. "My duties included assessing potential adoptions for their particular needs, conserving all books adopted through the program, sending letters to donors upon completion of the treatment, helping to advise donors about adoptions at the annual Adopt-a-Book event, and any other needs that may arise in the Preservation Department. This position allowed me to work with a wide range of interesting books. The treatments I performed ranged in age from 1750-1910 and in size from fitting in the palm of my hand to two and a half feet tall!"
"I was the fifth member of the Preservation Department. It was immensely helpful to have other conservation professionals around to ask questions and to bounce ideas off of them. The head of the lab was a fellow West Dean College alum!"
Find out more about courses specialising in books and library materials
![](https://assets.westdean.ac.uk/images/block_5x3--medium/338749-noah-smutz.jpg)