Wake County today announced that Assistant Director of Libraries Mike Wasilick has been named director of libraries. The County began recruiting for a new director of libraries in August 2009, following the retirement of the previous director, and recently selected Wasilick for the position. He will begin serving in his new capacity on Monday, March 29, 2010.

“I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Wake County in my new role,” said Wasilick. “Wake County Public Libraries will continue to focus on customer service, while looking for new and innovative ways to offer our services.”

Wake County hired Wasilick in 1986 as adult services manager at the Northwest Regional Library. During his 23 years with Wake County, Wasilick has held numerous positions, including library manager of the Cary Community Library, and regional library supervisor of the East, North and Southeast regional libraries.

As supervisor of the North Regional Library, Wasilick managed the busiest library in North Carolina, and with his staff introduced innovations system-wide, such as the first public-access computers with Internet and the first libraries Web page.

Wasilick wrote the 2002 and 2006 Library Master Plans, which provided the basis for the $35 million and $45 million public bond requests that voters approved by large margins. He also developed the library system’s building prototypes and operating models, and helped initiate the libraries’ audio book collection, centralized book ordering and the shared collection concept.

Wasilick is a native of Pennsylvania. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1980 and master’s degree in 1982 from Duquesne University; he earned his master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1983. Wasilick is a member of the American Library Association, Public Library Association and North Carolina Library Association, and has presented workshops for these organizations.

Among Wasilick’s favorite books are those on Philadelphia sports, such as Occasional Glory (Phillies) or Last Team Standing (Eagles); history, like Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin; fiction by Dan Brown; and from childhood, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.