A few months ago, I wrote about taking off for a fantastic adventure and moving overseas to take up a short-term role in the Netherlands. My time in Europe is nearly over and I will be returning to librarianship in Australia in a few weeks. Whether you are returning from time in another sector, country, or a break to travel or care for family, there’s many things you can do to get back into the swing of things.

You’ve been keeping up all this time, right?

Perhaps you’ve been in touch with colleagues or other librarians in Australia while you’ve been away, or you’ve been reading blogs and InCite to keep up with local news. Great! Do be prepared to hear about big news you somehow missed that will affect your work practice, or a major change to resources you rely on, but try not to be preoccupied by change.

If you haven’t been able to keep in touch or read, it may take a little longer to catch up but take it as a good opportunity to read conference papers that were published in 2008, like those from the VALA conference and Beyond the Hype. Check back through the archives here on LINT and other blogs. Take part in a 23 Things program if you want to brush up your web skills.

Get out and about

Take the time to attend social events to network with your colleagues when you return. Many cities now have semi-regular social events organised by mentoring and new graduate groups within ALIA. For example, Mentoring NSW runs a monthly gathering in a Sydney pub. Check ALIA’s events listing to find out what’s happening around the country. Nothing near you? Join an email list or a Facebook group and organise something!

Move right

If you’re moving home, after all the hassles with moving in the first place, it’s daunting to have to do it all again to come back. But it is important to do it right to save yourself stress and cost. In addition to moving your belongings, make sure you get all the documents you need for tax, superannuation and service in both countries.

Spread the word!

Be prepared for two things: some people will want to know every detail of your time away, others won’t ever ask. It’s a great position to be in to be able to encourage others to take the leap and consider moving overseas, taking off time to travel or other types of breaks, but if others aren’t that interested that’s perfectly fine, too.

Librarianship is a portable profession, make the most of it! Living in Europe has been a wonderful opportunity to travel, and compare differences and similarities in the profession across the world. If you’re interested to know more about some of the cultural issues take a look at the presentation I put together for ALA Annual in Anaheim, international opportunities for new librarians: with (or without) leaving home.