%general-entities; ]> Zlib Zlib is known to build its shared library incorrectly if CFLAGS is specified in the environment. If using a specified CFLAGS variable, be sure to add the -fPIC directive to the CFLAGS variable for the duration of the configure command below, then remove it afterwards. Prepare Zlib for compilation: ./configure --prefix=/usr --shared Compile the package: make To test the results, issue: make check. Install the shared library: make install Build the static library: make clean ./configure --prefix=/usr make To test the results again, issue: make check. Install the static library: make install Fix the permissions on the static library: chmod 644 /usr/lib/libz.a It is good policy and common practice to place important libraries into the /lib directory. This is most important in scenarios where /usr is on a separate partition. Essentially, the run-time components of any libraries that are used by programs in /bin or /sbin should reside in /lib so that they are on the root partition and available in the event of /usr being inaccessible. For the above reason, move the run-time components of the shared Zlib into /lib: mv /usr/lib/libz.so.* /lib Fix the /usr/lib/libz.so symlink: ln -sf ../../lib/libz.so.1 /usr/lib/libz.so Installed libraries libz[a,so] Short Descriptions libz Contains compression and un-compression functions used by some programs libz