> $ ls /usr/lib/R/library/rgdal/libs/rgdal.so > /usr/lib/R/library/rgdal/libs/rgdal.so* > > It is happy to give me some advice. what is the output of running `ldd /usr/lib/R/library/rgdal/libs/rgdal.so` ? that may provide some further hints. based on the error, you are probably missing a library dependency. --elijah