diff --git a/Bindings/Java/NativeComponent.java b/Bindings/Java/NativeComponent.java
index 2e6304a..cf6c9b0 100644
--- a/Bindings/Java/NativeComponent.java
+++ b/Bindings/Java/NativeComponent.java
@@ -23,7 +23,15 @@ public class NativeComponent extends Component {
   private native static void initializeNativeData ();
 
   static {
-    System.loadLibrary("brlapi_java");
+    try {
+         System.load( "/usr/lib64/brltty/libbrlapi_java.so" );
+    } catch( UnsatisfiedLinkError e ) {
+         try {
+             System.load( "/usr/lib/brltty/libbrlapi_java.so" );
+         } catch( UnsatisfiedLinkError f ) {
+             throw new UnsatisfiedLinkError("brlapi_java library load failed");
+         }
+    }
     initializeNativeData();
   }