diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 8dc1878..3967624 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ AM_PROG_CC_C_O
 AC_PROG_CXX
 AC_PROG_RANLIB
 gl_INIT
+AM_PROG_AR
 
 dnl Does the system have a working <getopt.h> include and
 dnl getopt_long() function?