--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@
 fi
 CFLAGS="-I$MYSQL_INC_DIR $CFLAGS"
 
-AC_CHECK_LIB(mysqlclient_r,mysql_init, LIBS="-lmysqlclient_r",
+AC_CHECK_LIB(mysqlclient_r,mysql_init, LIBS="$LIBS -lmysqlclient_r",
   AC_MSG_ERROR([MySQL libraries not found])
 )