diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9152e324..edcdb511 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 include Make.inc
 
-library: mlp kryl
+library: libdir mlp kryl
 
+libdir:
+	(if test ! -d lib ; then mkdir lib; fi)
 mlp:
 	(cd mlprec; make lib)
 kryl: