This isn't true... the linker simply needs to know where to find the shared library.
Depending on what compiler / linker you're using - the syntax for providing a path to linked libraries can vary. If you're using gcc for instance, you can set the LIBRARY_PATH env variable or by specifying paths using -L when calling gcc, like -L/usr/local/lib You can run gcc with the -v flag to see what LIBRARY_PATH is currently set to.
