diff --git a/AMD/CMakeLists.txt b/AMD/CMakeLists.txt
index 4cc7567b4d..cfae55c44d 100644
--- a/AMD/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/AMD/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ target_include_directories ( AMD
 # static amd library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( AMD_static STATIC ${AMD_SOURCES} )
     set_target_properties ( AMD_static PROPERTIES
         C_STANDARD 11
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( AMD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( AMD PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( AMD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( AMD PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( AMD_STATIC_LIBS "${AMD_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( AMD_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ install ( TARGETS AMD
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS AMD_static
         EXPORT AMDTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/BTF/CMakeLists.txt b/BTF/CMakeLists.txt
index ec82bed928..67e004dd93 100644
--- a/BTF/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/BTF/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ target_include_directories ( BTF
 # static btf library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( BTF_static STATIC ${BTF_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( BTF_static PROPERTIES
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ endif ( )
 # SuiteSparseConfig:
 target_include_directories ( BTF PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_include_directories ( BTF_static PUBLIC
         "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
 endif ( )
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( BTF PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( BTF_STATIC_LIBS "${BTF_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( BTF_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ install ( TARGETS BTF
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS BTF_static
         EXPORT BTFTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/CAMD/CMakeLists.txt b/CAMD/CMakeLists.txt
index d2ee4015bf..f3be6cfeee 100644
--- a/CAMD/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CAMD/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ target_include_directories ( CAMD
 # static camd library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( CAMD_static STATIC ${CAMD_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( CAMD_static PROPERTIES
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( CAMD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( CAMD PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( CAMD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( CAMD PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( CAMD_STATIC_LIBS "${CAMD_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( CAMD_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ install ( TARGETS CAMD
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS CAMD_static
         EXPORT CAMDTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/CCOLAMD/CMakeLists.txt b/CCOLAMD/CMakeLists.txt
index a23e074e71..908619046a 100644
--- a/CCOLAMD/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CCOLAMD/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ target_include_directories ( CCOLAMD
 # static ccolamd library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( CCOLAMD_static STATIC ${CCOLAMD_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( CCOLAMD_static PROPERTIES
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( CCOLAMD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( CCOLAMD PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( CCOLAMD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( CCOLAMD PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( CCOLAMD_STATIC_LIBS "${CCOLAMD_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( CCOLAMD_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ install ( TARGETS CCOLAMD
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS CCOLAMD_static
         EXPORT CCOLAMDTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/CHOLMOD/CMakeLists.txt b/CHOLMOD/CMakeLists.txt
index 206525b64f..d0e1855975 100644
--- a/CHOLMOD/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CHOLMOD/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ target_include_directories ( CHOLMOD
 # static cholmod library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( CHOLMOD_static STATIC ${CHOLMOD_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( CHOLMOD_static PROPERTIES
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( CHOLMOD PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ if ( OPENMP_FOUND )
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C include:        ${OpenMP_C_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C flags:          ${OpenMP_C_FLAGS} ")
     target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
         list ( APPEND CHOLMOD_STATIC_LIBS ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
     endif ( )
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND CHOLMOD_STATIC_LIBS "m" )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 # AMD:
 target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::AMD )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 # COLAMD:
 target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::COLAMD )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::COLAMD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::COLAMD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ if ( NOT NSUPERNODAL )
     message ( STATUS "LAPACK include:      ${LAPACK_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
     message ( STATUS "LAPACK linker flags: ${LAPACK_LINKER_FLAGS} ")
     target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE ${LAPACK_LIBRARIES} )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND CHOLMOD_STATIC_LIBS ${LAPACK_LIBRARIES} )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC ${LAPACK_LIBRARIES} )
     endif ( )
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ if ( NOT NSUPERNODAL )
     message ( STATUS "BLAS include:        ${BLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
     message ( STATUS "BLAS linker flags:   ${BLAS_LINKER_FLAGS} ")
     target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND CHOLMOD_STATIC_LIBS ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
     endif ( )
@@ -443,7 +443,7 @@ endif ( )
 # CAMD and CCOLAMD:
 if ( NOT NCAMD )
     target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::CAMD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( CHOLMOD_STATIC_MODULES "${CHOLMOD_STATIC_MODULES} CAMD" )
         if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::CAMD_static )
             target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::CAMD_static )
@@ -453,7 +453,7 @@ if ( NOT NCAMD )
     endif ( )
 
     target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::CCOLAMD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( CHOLMOD_STATIC_MODULES "${CHOLMOD_STATIC_MODULES} CCOLAMD" )
         if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::CCOLAMD_static )
             target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::CCOLAMD_static )
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ if ( SUITESPARSE_CUDA )
     set ( CHOLMOD_STATIC_MODULES "${CHOLMOD_STATIC_MODULES} CHOLMOD_CUDA" )
     set ( CHOLMOD_CFLAGS "${CHOLMOD_CFLAGS} -DSUITESPARSE_CUDA" )
     target_compile_definitions ( CHOLMOD PUBLIC "SUITESPARSE_CUDA" )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC CHOLMOD_CUDA_static ${CUDA_LIBRARIES} )
         target_compile_definitions ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC "SUITESPARSE_CUDA" )
     endif ( )
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ if ( SUITESPARSE_CUDA )
         CUDA::nvToolsExt CUDA::cublas )
     target_include_directories ( CHOLMOD INTERFACE
         $<TARGET_PROPERTY:CUDA::cublas,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES> )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC CUDA::nvrtc CUDA::cudart_static
             CUDA::nvToolsExt CUDA::cublas )
     endif ( )
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ if ( SUITESPARSE_CUDA )
 
     if ( NOT HAVE_COMPAR_FN_T )
         target_compile_definitions ( CHOLMOD PRIVATE NCOMPAR_FN_T )
-        if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+        if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
             target_compile_definitions ( CHOLMOD_static PRIVATE NCOMPAR_FN_T )
         endif ( )
     endif ( )
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ install ( TARGETS CHOLMOD
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS CHOLMOD_static
         EXPORT CHOLMODTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/CHOLMOD/GPU/CMakeLists.txt b/CHOLMOD/GPU/CMakeLists.txt
index 1d96129e8c..24ed3f338b 100644
--- a/CHOLMOD/GPU/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CHOLMOD/GPU/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ set_target_properties ( CHOLMOD_CUDA PROPERTIES
     OUTPUT_NAME cholmod_cuda
     SOVERSION ${CHOLMOD_VERSION_MAJOR} )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( CHOLMOD_CUDA_static STATIC ${CHOLMOD_CUDA_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( CHOLMOD_CUDA_static PROPERTIES
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ set_target_properties ( CHOLMOD_CUDA PROPERTIES POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON )
 set_target_properties ( CHOLMOD_CUDA PROPERTIES CUDA_SEPARABLE_COMPILATION ON )
 target_compile_definitions ( CHOLMOD_CUDA PUBLIC "SUITESPARSE_CUDA" )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_include_directories ( CHOLMOD_CUDA_static PRIVATE
         ${CUDAToolkit_INCLUDE_DIRS}
         ${CHOLMOD_CUDA_INCLUDES} )
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_CUDA PRIVATE CUDA::nvrtc CUDA::cudart_static
     CUDA::nvToolsExt CUDA::cublas )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_link_libraries ( CHOLMOD_CUDA_static PUBLIC CUDA::nvrtc CUDA::cudart_static
         CUDA::nvToolsExt CUDA::cublas )
 endif ( )
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ install ( TARGETS CHOLMOD_CUDA
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS CHOLMOD_CUDA_static
         EXPORT CHOLMOD_CUDATargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 013656398e..570cac978a 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -61,9 +61,9 @@ option ( NCAMD "ON: do not use CAMD/CCOLAMD.  OFF (default): use CAMD/CCOLAMD" O
 # KLU and UMFPACK options affecting dependencies
 option ( NCHOLMOD "ON: do not use CHOLMOD in KLU and UMFPACK.  OFF (default): use CHOLMOD" OFF )
 
-# overwrite NSTATIC specifically for GraphBLAS because building the library
-# takes a long time
-option ( GRAPHBLAS_NSTATIC "ON (default): set NSTATIC for GraphBLAS project.  OFF: Use same value of NSTATIC for GraphBLAS like in the other projects" ON )
+# overwrite BUILD_STATIC_LIBS specifically for GraphBLAS because building the
+# library takes a long time
+option ( GRAPHBLAS_BUILD_STATIC_LIBS "OFF (default): Do not build static libraries for GraphBLAS project.  ON: Use same value of BUILD_STATIC_LIBS for GraphBLAS like in the other projects" OFF )
 
 # options to build with libraries installed on the system instead of building
 # dependencies automatically
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "suitesparse_config" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "SuiteSparse_config" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig ALIAS SuiteSparseConfig )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static ALIAS SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "mongoose" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "Mongoose" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::Mongoose ALIAS Mongoose )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET Mongoose_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::Mongoose_static ALIAS Mongoose_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "amd" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "AMD" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::AMD ALIAS AMD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET AMD_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::AMD_static ALIAS AMD_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "btf" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "BTF" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::BTF ALIAS BTF )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET BTF_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::BTF_static ALIAS BTF_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "camd" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "CAMD" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::CAMD ALIAS CAMD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET CAMD_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::CAMD_static ALIAS CAMD_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "ccolamd" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "CCOLAMD" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::CCOLAMD ALIAS CCOLAMD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET CCOLAMD_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::CCOLAMD_static ALIAS CCOLAMD_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "colamd" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "COLAMD" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::COLAMD ALIAS COLAMD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET COLAMD_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::COLAMD_static ALIAS COLAMD_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "cholmod" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "CHOLMOD" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD ALIAS CHOLMOD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET CHOLMOD_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_static ALIAS CHOLMOD_static )
     endif ( )
     if ( TARGET CHOLMOD_CUDA )
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "cxsparse" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "CXSparse" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::CXSparse ALIAS CXSparse )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET CXSparse_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::CXSparse_static ALIAS CXSparse_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "ldl" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "LDL" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::LDL ALIAS LDL )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET LDL_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::LDL_static ALIAS LDL_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "klu" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "KLU" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::KLU ALIAS KLU )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET KLU_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::KLU_static ALIAS KLU_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "umfpack" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "UMFPACK" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::UMFPACK ALIAS UMFPACK )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET UMFPACK_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::UMFPACK_static ALIAS UMFPACK_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "paru" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "ParU" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::ParU ALIAS ParU )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET ParU_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::ParU_static ALIAS ParU_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "rbio" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "RBio" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::RBio ALIAS RBio )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET RBio_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::RBio_static ALIAS RBio_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "spqr" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "SPQR" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::SPQR ALIAS SPQR )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET SPQR_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::SPQR_static ALIAS SPQR_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "spex" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "SPEX" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::SPEX ALIAS SPEX )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET SPEX_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::SPEX_static ALIAS SPEX_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "lagraph" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "LAGraph" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::LAGraph ALIAS LAGraph )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET LAGraph_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::LAGraph_static ALIAS LAGraph_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( "csparse" IN_LIST SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS )
     add_subdirectory ( "CSparse" )
     add_library ( SuiteSparse::CSparse ALIAS CSparse )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( TARGET CSparse_static )
         add_library ( SuiteSparse::CSparse_static ALIAS CSparse_static )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
diff --git a/COLAMD/CMakeLists.txt b/COLAMD/CMakeLists.txt
index 4fb27915c5..3662ce3bbe 100644
--- a/COLAMD/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/COLAMD/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ target_include_directories ( COLAMD
 # static colamd library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( COLAMD_static STATIC ${COLAMD_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( COLAMD_static PROPERTIES
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( COLAMD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( COLAMD PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( COLAMD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( COLAMD PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( COLAMD_STATIC_LIBS "${COLAMD_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( COLAMD_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ install ( TARGETS COLAMD
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS COLAMD_static
         EXPORT COLAMDTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/CSparse/CMakeLists.txt b/CSparse/CMakeLists.txt
index 4ae958a332..f8b747323b 100644
--- a/CSparse/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CSparse/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ set_target_properties ( csparse PROPERTIES
 # static csparse library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( csparse_static STATIC ${CSPARSE_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( csparse_static PROPERTIES
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( csparse PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( CSPARSE_STATIC_LIBS "${CSPARSE_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( csparse_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
diff --git a/CXSparse/CMakeLists.txt b/CXSparse/CMakeLists.txt
index 6e008eca34..1822355aeb 100644
--- a/CXSparse/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CXSparse/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ target_include_directories ( CXSparse
 # static cxsparse library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( CXSparse_static STATIC ${CXSPARSE_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( CXSparse_static PROPERTIES
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( CXSparse PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( CXSparse PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( CXSparse_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( CXSparse PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( CXSPARSE_STATIC_LIBS "${CXSPARSE_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( CXSparse_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ install ( TARGETS CXSparse
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS CXSparse_static
         EXPORT CXSparseTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/GraphBLAS/CMakeLists.txt b/GraphBLAS/CMakeLists.txt
index 86bd8bdc8e..ca00eae989 100644
--- a/GraphBLAS/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/GraphBLAS/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ set ( PROJECT_VERSION "${GraphBLAS_VERSION_MAJOR}.${GraphBLAS_VERSION_MINOR}.${G
 
 # GraphBLAS takes a long time to build, so do not build the static library
 # by default
-set ( NSTATIC_DEFAULT_ON ON )
+set ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS_DEFAULT_OFF ON )
 
 # CUDA is under development for now, and not deployed in production:
   set ( ENABLE_CUDA false )
@@ -45,9 +45,9 @@ set ( NSTATIC_DEFAULT_ON ON )
 
 include ( SuiteSparsePolicy )
 
-if ( GRAPHBLAS_NSTATIC )
-    # ignore current value of NSTATIC and set it to ON
-    set ( NSTATIC ON )
+if ( NOT GRAPHBLAS_BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
+    # ignore current value of BUILD_STATIC_LIBS and set it to OFF
+    set ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS OFF )
 endif ( )
 
 if ( SUITESPARSE_CUDA )
@@ -132,15 +132,15 @@ endif ( )
 # determine build type
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-# select "true" to build both dynamic and static libraries:
-# set ( NOT NSTATIC true )
-# set ( NOT NSTATIC false )
-# or use cmake with -DNSTATIC=1
+# select "ON" to build both dynamic and static libraries:
+# set ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS ON )
+# set ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS OFF )
+# or use cmake with -DGRAPHBLAS_BUILD_STATIC_LIBS=ON
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     message ( STATUS "Building all GraphBLAS libraries (static and dynamic)" )
 else ( )
-    message ( STATUS "Building dynamic GraphBLAS library" )
+    message ( STATUS "Building dynamic GraphBLAS library (no static)" )
 endif ( )
 
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ endif ( )
 # static graphblas library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
 
     add_library ( GraphBLAS_static STATIC ${GRAPHBLAS_SOURCES} )
 
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ if ( NOT GBNCPUFEAT )
         if ( HAVE_DLFCN_H )
             message ( STATUS "cpu_feautures has dlfcn.h" )
             target_compile_definitions ( GraphBLAS PRIVATE HAVE_DLFCN_H )
-            if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+            if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
                 target_compile_definitions ( GraphBLAS_static PRIVATE HAVE_DLFCN_H )
             endif ( )
         else ( )
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ if ( NOT GBNCPUFEAT )
         if ( HAVE_STRONG_GETAUXVAL )
             message ( STATUS "cpu_feautures has getauxval from sys/auxv.h" )
             target_compile_definitions ( GraphBLAS PRIVATE HAVE_STRONG_GETAUXVAL )
-            if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+            if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
                 target_compile_definitions ( GraphBLAS_static PRIVATE HAVE_STRONG_GETAUXVAL )
             endif ( )
         else ( )
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ endif ( )
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     set ( GB_M "m" )
     target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND GRAPHBLAS_STATIC_LIBS "m" )
         target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libdl
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS PRIVATE dl )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND GRAPHBLAS_STATIC_LIBS "dl" )
         target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS_static PUBLIC dl )
     endif ( )
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ endif ( )
 include ( SuiteSparseAtomic )
 if ( LIBATOMIC_REQUIRED )
     target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS PRIVATE atomic )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND GRAPHBLAS_STATIC_LIBS "atomic" )
         target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS_static PUBLIC atomic )
     endif ( )
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ if ( OPENMP_FOUND )
     # C compiler, and this is converted into "-lOpenMP::OpenMP_C".
     # So this breaks:
     # target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS PRIVATE OpenMP::OpenMP_C )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND GRAPHBLAS_STATIC_LIBS ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
         target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS_static PUBLIC ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
         # target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS_static PUBLIC OpenMP::OpenMP_C )
@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 if ( SUITESPARSE_CUDA )
     target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS PRIVATE ${GB_CUDA} ${GB_RMM} )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( GraphBLAS_static PUBLIC ${GB_CUDA} ${GB_RMM} )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ install ( TARGETS GraphBLAS
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS GraphBLAS_static
         EXPORT GraphBLASTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake b/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake
index 4bb59779c4..e3573426ec 100644
--- a/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake
+++ b/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake
@@ -24,12 +24,14 @@
 #                       if false, "cmake --install" will install into the
 #                       default prefix (or the one configured with
 #                       CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX).  Requires cmake 3.19.
+#                       This is ignored when using the root CMakeLists.txt.
+#                       Set CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX instead.
 #                       Default: false
 #
-#   NSTATIC:            if true, static libraries are not built.
-#                       Default: false, except for GraphBLAS, which
+#   BUILD_STATIC_LIBS:  if true, static libraries are built.
+#                       Default: true, except for GraphBLAS, which
 #                       takes a long time to compile so the default for
-#                       GraphBLAS is true.
+#                       GraphBLAS is false.
 #
 #   SUITESPARSE_CUDA_ARCHITECTURES:  a string, such as "all" or
 #                       "35;50;75;80" that lists the CUDA architectures to use
@@ -92,19 +94,24 @@ include ( GNUInstallDirs )
 set ( CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}
     ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake_modules )
 
-# NSTATIC option
-if ( NSTATIC_DEFAULT_ON )
-    option ( NSTATIC "ON (default): do not build static libraries.  OFF: build static libraries" on )
+# BUILD_STATIC_LIBS option
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS_DEFAULT_OFF )
+    option ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS "OFF (default): do not build static libraries.  ON: build static libraries" OFF )
 else ( )
-    option ( NSTATIC "ON: do not build static libraries.  OFF (default): build static libraries" off )
+    # For backwards compatibility, use NSTATIC if it is set.
+    if ( NSTATIC )
+        option ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS "OFF: do not build static libraries.  ON (default): build static libraries" OFF )
+    else ( )
+        option ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS "OFF: do not build static libraries.  ON (default): build static libraries" ON )
+    endif ( )
 endif ( )
 
 # installation options
-if ( ${CMAKE_VERSION} VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL "3.19.0" )
+if ( NOT SUITESPARSE_ROOT_CMAKELISTS AND ${CMAKE_VERSION} VERSION_GREATER_EQUAL "3.19.0" )
     # the LOCAL_INSTALL option requires cmake 3.19.0 or later
-    option ( LOCAL_INSTALL "Install in SuiteSparse/lib" off )
+    option ( LOCAL_INSTALL "Install in SuiteSparse/lib" OFF )
 else ( )
-    set ( LOCAL_INSTALL off )
+    set ( LOCAL_INSTALL OFF )
 endif ( )
 
 if ( SUITESPARSE_SECOND_LEVEL )
@@ -121,30 +128,32 @@ endif ( )
 # find this one without "make install"
 set ( CMAKE_BUILD_RPATH ${CMAKE_BUILD_RPATH} ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR} )
 
-# determine if this Package is inside the SuiteSparse folder
-set ( INSIDE_SUITESPARSE false )
-if ( LOCAL_INSTALL )
-    # if you do not want to install local copies of SuiteSparse
-    # packages in SuiteSparse/lib and SuiteSparse/, set
-    # LOCAL_INSTALL to false in your CMake options.
-    if ( SUITESPARSE_SECOND_LEVEL )
-        # the package is normally located at the 2nd level inside SuiteSparse
-        # (SuiteSparse/GraphBLAS/GraphBLAS/ for example)
-        if ( EXISTS ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../../SuiteSparse_config )
-            set ( INSIDE_SUITESPARSE true )
+if ( NOT SUITESPARSE_ROOT_CMAKELISTS )
+    # determine if this Package is inside the SuiteSparse folder
+    set ( INSIDE_SUITESPARSE false )
+    if ( LOCAL_INSTALL )
+        # if you do not want to install local copies of SuiteSparse
+        # packages in SuiteSparse/lib and SuiteSparse/, set
+        # LOCAL_INSTALL to false in your CMake options.
+        if ( SUITESPARSE_SECOND_LEVEL )
+            # the package is normally located at the 2nd level inside SuiteSparse
+            # (SuiteSparse/GraphBLAS/GraphBLAS/ for example)
+            if ( EXISTS ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../../SuiteSparse_config )
+                set ( INSIDE_SUITESPARSE true )
+            endif ( )
+        else ( )
+            # typical case, the package is at the 1st level inside SuiteSparse
+            # (SuiteSparse/AMD for example)
+            if ( EXISTS ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../SuiteSparse_config )
+                set ( INSIDE_SUITESPARSE true )
+            endif ( )
         endif ( )
-    else ( )
-        # typical case, the package is at the 1st level inside SuiteSparse
-        # (SuiteSparse/AMD for example)
-        if ( EXISTS ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/../SuiteSparse_config )
-            set ( INSIDE_SUITESPARSE true )
+
+        if ( NOT INSIDE_SUITESPARSE )
+            message ( FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported layout for local installation. Correct the directory layout or unset LOCAL_INSTALL." )
         endif ( )
-    endif ( )
 
-    if ( NOT INSIDE_SUITESPARSE )
-        message ( FATAL_ERROR "Unsupported layout for local installation. Correct the directory layout or unset LOCAL_INSTALL." )
     endif ( )
-
 endif ( )
 
 if ( LOCAL_INSTALL )
diff --git a/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake b/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake
index 9271c4a920..d06f785713 100644
--- a/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake
+++ b/GraphBLAS/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake
@@ -12,14 +12,12 @@
 message ( STATUS "------------------------------------------------------------------------" )
 message ( STATUS "SuiteSparse CMAKE report for: ${CMAKE_PROJECT_NAME}" )
 message ( STATUS "------------------------------------------------------------------------" )
-message ( STATUS "inside common SuiteSparse root:  ${INSIDE_SUITESPARSE}" )
-message ( STATUS "install in SuiteSparse/lib and SuiteSparse/include: ${LOCAL_INSTALL}" )
-message ( STATUS "build type:           ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" )
-if ( NSTATIC )
-    message ( STATUS "NSTATIC:              true (do not build static library)" )
-else ( )
-    message ( STATUS "NSTATIC:              false (build static library)" )
+if ( NOT SUITESPARSE_ROOT_CMAKELISTS )
+    message ( STATUS "inside common SuiteSparse root:  ${INSIDE_SUITESPARSE}" )
+    message ( STATUS "install in SuiteSparse/lib and SuiteSparse/include: ${LOCAL_INSTALL}" )
 endif ( )
+message ( STATUS "build type:           ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" )
+message ( STATUS "BUILD_STATIC_LIBS:    ${BUILD_STATIC_LIBS}" )
 if ( OPENMP_FOUND )
     message ( STATUS "use OpenMP:           yes ")
 else ( )
diff --git a/KLU/CMakeLists.txt b/KLU/CMakeLists.txt
index 0cbca450f4..c175809753 100644
--- a/KLU/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/KLU/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ target_include_directories ( KLU
 # static klu library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( KLU_static STATIC ${KLU_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( KLU_static PROPERTIES
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ if ( NOT NCHOLMOD )
         INTERFACE $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/Include>
                   $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR}> )
 
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         add_library ( KLU_CHOLMOD_static STATIC ${KLU_CHOLMOD_SOURCES} )
 
         set_target_properties ( KLU_CHOLMOD_static PROPERTIES
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 # SuiteSparseConfig:
 target_link_libraries ( KLU PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( KLU_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( KLU PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( KLU_STATIC_LIBS "${KLU_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( KLU_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( KLU PRIVATE SuiteSparse::AMD )
 target_include_directories ( KLU PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::AMD,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( KLU_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( KLU PRIVATE SuiteSparse::COLAMD )
 target_include_directories ( KLU PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::COLAMD,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::COLAMD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( KLU_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::COLAMD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( KLU PRIVATE SuiteSparse::BTF )
 target_include_directories ( KLU PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::BTF,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::BTF_static )
         target_link_libraries ( KLU_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::BTF_static )
     else ( )
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ if ( NOT NCHOLMOD )
     # link with CHOLMOD and its dependencies, both required and optional
     # CHOLMOD without CUDA
     target_link_libraries ( KLU_CHOLMOD PRIVATE SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
        set ( KLU_STATIC_MODULES "${KLU_STATIC_MODULES} CHOLMOD" )
        if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_static )
             target_link_libraries ( KLU_CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_static )
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ if ( NOT NCHOLMOD )
 
     # klu:
     target_link_libraries ( KLU_CHOLMOD PRIVATE KLU )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( KLU_CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC KLU_static )
         if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::BTF_static )
             target_link_libraries ( KLU_CHOLMOD_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::BTF_static )
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ install ( TARGETS KLU
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS KLU_static
         EXPORT KLUTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@ if ( NOT NCHOLMOD )
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
         RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
         PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         install ( TARGETS KLU_CHOLMOD_static
             EXPORT KLU_CHOLMODTargets
             ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/LAGraph/CMakeLists.txt b/LAGraph/CMakeLists.txt
index ef76189691..3117c9fab6 100644
--- a/LAGraph/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/LAGraph/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ else ( )
         set ( OPENMP_C_FOUND OFF )
     else ( )
         find_package ( OpenMP )
-        if ( OPENMP_C_FOUND AND NOT NSTATIC )
+        if ( OPENMP_C_FOUND AND BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
             list ( APPEND LAGRAPH_STATIC_LIBS ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
         endif ( )
         find_package ( Threads )
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ install ( TARGETS LAGraph LAGraphX
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS LAGraph_static LAGraphX_static
         EXPORT LAGraphTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ install ( FILES
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 if ( NOT MSVC )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         if ( NOT WIN32 )
             list ( APPEND LAGRAPH_STATIC_LIBS "m" )
         endif ( )
diff --git a/LAGraph/experimental/CMakeLists.txt b/LAGraph/experimental/CMakeLists.txt
index 87f867a147..991355c674 100644
--- a/LAGraph/experimental/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/LAGraph/experimental/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ target_compile_definitions ( LAGraphX PUBLIC LGX_DLL )
 # static lagraphx library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( LAGraphX_static STATIC ${LAGRAPHX_LIB_SOURCES} )
     SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES ( LAGraphX_static PROPERTIES
         OUTPUT_NAME lagraphx
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 if ( OPENMP_C_FOUND )
     target_link_libraries ( LAGraphX PRIVATE OpenMP::OpenMP_C )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( LAGraphX_static PUBLIC OpenMP::OpenMP_C )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
diff --git a/LAGraph/src/CMakeLists.txt b/LAGraph/src/CMakeLists.txt
index c9d0c63a02..463515dbc9 100644
--- a/LAGraph/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/LAGraph/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ target_compile_definitions ( LAGraph PUBLIC LG_DLL )
 # static lagraph library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( LAGraph_static STATIC ${LAGRAPH_LIB_SOURCES} )
     SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES ( LAGraph_static PROPERTIES
         OUTPUT_NAME lagraph
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 if ( OPENMP_C_FOUND )
     target_link_libraries ( LAGraph PRIVATE OpenMP::OpenMP_C )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( LAGraph_static PUBLIC OpenMP::OpenMP_C )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
diff --git a/LDL/CMakeLists.txt b/LDL/CMakeLists.txt
index 075d4c61b1..2eb03794f3 100644
--- a/LDL/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/LDL/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ target_include_directories ( LDL
 # static ldl library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( LDL_static STATIC ${LDL_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( LDL_static PROPERTIES
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( LDL PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( LDL_STATIC_LIBS "${LDL_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( LDL_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_include_directories ( LDL PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_include_directories ( LDL_static PUBLIC
         "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
 endif ( )
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ install ( TARGETS LDL
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS LDL_static
         EXPORT LDLTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/Mongoose/CMakeLists.txt b/Mongoose/CMakeLists.txt
index c056a1bd85..9feb9574db 100644
--- a/Mongoose/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Mongoose/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
 # set(CMAKE_LIBRARY_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/lib)
 # set(CMAKE_ARCHIVE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/lib)
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     # Build the Mongoose library
     add_library ( Mongoose_static STATIC ${MONGOOSE_LIB_FILES} )
 #   set_property ( TARGET Mongoose_static PROPERTY POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON )
@@ -257,10 +257,10 @@ endif ( )
 add_executable ( mongoose_exe ${EXE_FILES} )
 set_target_properties ( mongoose_exe PROPERTIES
         OUTPUT_NAME mongoose )
-if ( NSTATIC )
-    target_link_libraries ( mongoose_exe Mongoose )
-else ( )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_link_libraries ( mongoose_exe Mongoose_static )
+else ( )
+    target_link_libraries ( mongoose_exe Mongoose )
 endif ( )
 if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     target_link_libraries ( mongoose_exe SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
@@ -272,10 +272,10 @@ endif ( )
 add_executable ( demo_exe ${DEMO_FILES} )
 set_target_properties ( demo_exe PROPERTIES
         OUTPUT_NAME demo )
-if ( NSTATIC )
-    target_link_libraries ( demo_exe Mongoose )
-else ( )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_link_libraries ( demo_exe Mongoose_static )
+else ( )
+    target_link_libraries ( demo_exe Mongoose )
 endif ( )
 if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     target_link_libraries ( demo_exe SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
@@ -351,10 +351,10 @@ if ( Python_Interpreter_FOUND )
     add_executable ( mongoose_test_performance
         Tests/Mongoose_Test_Performance.cpp
         Tests/Mongoose_Test_Performance_exe.cpp )
-    if ( NSTATIC )
-        target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_performance Mongoose )
-    else ( )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_performance Mongoose_static )
+    else ( )
+        target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_performance Mongoose )
     endif ( )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_performance SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
@@ -379,10 +379,10 @@ endif ( )
 add_executable ( mongoose_test_reference
     Tests/Mongoose_Test_Reference.cpp
     Tests/Mongoose_Test_Reference_exe.cpp )
-if ( NSTATIC )
-    target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_reference Mongoose )
-else ( )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_reference Mongoose_static )
+else ( )
+    target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_reference Mongoose )
 endif ( )
 if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     target_link_libraries ( mongoose_test_reference SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@ set_target_properties ( mongoose_unit_test_io mongoose_unit_test_graph mongoose_
 
 set ( CMAKE_CXX_OUTPUT_EXTENSION_REPLACE 1 ) # Necessary for gcov - prevents file.cpp.gcda instead of file.gcda
 
-# if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+# if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
 #   add_custom_command ( TARGET Mongoose_static
 #           POST_BUILD
 #           COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy $<TARGET_FILE:Mongoose_static> ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/Lib
@@ -536,7 +536,7 @@ install ( TARGETS Mongoose
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS Mongoose_static
         EXPORT MongooseTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/ParU/CMakeLists.txt b/ParU/CMakeLists.txt
index 6d36b03bf9..9819bbdff8 100644
--- a/ParU/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/ParU/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ target_include_directories ( ParU
 # static paru library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( ParU_static STATIC ${PARU_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( ParU_static PROPERTIES
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ if ( WIN32 AND CMAKE_C_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "GNU" )
     # Some parallelization levels don't work correctly with GCC on Windows
     # (because of emuTLS?). Omit them.
     target_compile_definitions (ParU PRIVATE PARU_GCC_WINDOWS )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_compile_definitions (ParU_static PRIVATE PARU_GCC_WINDOWS )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( ParU PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( ParU PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( ParU_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -194,16 +194,16 @@ if ( OpenMP_CXX_FOUND )
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C++ include:      ${OpenMP_CXX_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C++ flags:        ${OpenMP_CXX_FLAGS} ")
     target_link_libraries ( ParU PRIVATE OpenMP::OpenMP_CXX )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND PARU_STATIC_LIBS ${OpenMP_CXX_LIBRARIES} )
         target_link_libraries ( ParU_static PUBLIC OpenMP::OpenMP_CXX )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
 
 # libm:
-if ( NOT MSVC )
+if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( ParU PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND PARU_STATIC_LIBS m )
         target_link_libraries ( ParU_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( ParU PRIVATE SuiteSparse::UMFPACK )
 target_include_directories ( ParU PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::UMFPACK,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::UMFPACK_static )
         target_link_libraries ( ParU_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::UMFPACK_static )
     else ( )
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ endif ( )
 message ( STATUS "BLAS libraries:      ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} ")
 message ( STATUS "BLAS linker flags:   ${BLAS_LINKER_FLAGS} ")
 target_link_libraries ( ParU PRIVATE ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     list ( APPEND PARU_STATIC_LIBS ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
     target_link_libraries ( ParU_static PUBLIC ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
     include_directories ( ${BLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS} )
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ endif ( )
 # cholmod:
 target_include_directories ( ParU PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_include_directories ( ParU_static PUBLIC
         "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
 endif ( )
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ install ( TARGETS ParU
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS ParU_static
         EXPORT ParUTargets
         ARCHIVE       DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/RBio/CMakeLists.txt b/RBio/CMakeLists.txt
index 4c311396eb..213a4d86c9 100644
--- a/RBio/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/RBio/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ target_include_directories ( RBio
 # static rbio library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( RBio_static STATIC ${RBIO_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( RBio_static PROPERTIES
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( RBio PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( RBio PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( RBio_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( RBio PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( RBIO_STATIC_LIBS "${RBIO_STATIC_LIBS} -lm" )
         target_link_libraries ( RBio_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ install ( TARGETS RBio
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS RBio_static
         EXPORT RBioTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1b83cca567..6d80ac5a26 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -644,11 +644,12 @@ Compilation options
 
 You can set specific options for CMake with the command (for example):
 
-    cmake -DNPARTITION=ON -DNSTATIC=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
+    cmake -DNPARTITION=ON -DBUILD_STATIC_LIBS=OFF -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
 
 That command will compile all of SuiteSparse except for CHOLMOD/Partition
 Module (because of `-DNPARTITION=ON`).  Debug mode will be used (the build
-type).  The static libraries will not be built (since `-DNSTATIC=ON` is set).
+type).  The static libraries will not be built (since `-DBUILD_STATIC_LIBS=OFF`
+is set).
 
 * `SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS`:
 
@@ -679,11 +680,11 @@ type).  The static libraries will not be built (since `-DNSTATIC=ON` is set).
     sudo cmake --install .
 ```
 
-* `NSTATIC`:
+* `BUILD_STATIC_LIBS`:
 
-  If `ON`, static libraries are not built.
-  Default: `OFF`, except for GraphBLAS, which takes a long time to compile so
-  the default for GraphBLAS is `ON`.
+  If `ON`, static libraries are also built.
+  Default: `ON`, except for GraphBLAS, which takes a long time to compile so
+  the default for GraphBLAS is `OFF`.
 
 * `SUITESPARSE_CUDA_ARCHITECTURES`:
 
diff --git a/SPEX/CMakeLists.txt b/SPEX/CMakeLists.txt
index d8d8945b7d..8d687c0c7b 100644
--- a/SPEX/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/SPEX/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ target_include_directories ( SPEX
 # static spex library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( SPEX_static STATIC ${SPEX_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( SPEX_static PROPERTIES
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( SPEX PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( SPEX PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( SPEX_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 # AMD:
 target_link_libraries ( SPEX PRIVATE SuiteSparse::AMD )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( SPEX_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 # COLAMD:
 target_link_libraries ( SPEX PRIVATE SuiteSparse::COLAMD )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::COLAMD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( SPEX_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::COLAMD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 # MPFR:
 target_link_libraries ( SPEX PRIVATE ${MPFR_LIBRARIES} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     list ( APPEND SPEX_STATIC_LIBS ${MPFR_STATIC} )
     target_link_libraries ( SPEX_static PUBLIC ${MPFR_STATIC} )
 endif ( )
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ endif ( )
 # GMP:
 # must occur after MPFR
 target_link_libraries ( SPEX PRIVATE ${GMP_LIBRARIES} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     list ( APPEND SPEX_STATIC_LIBS ${GMP_STATIC} )
     target_link_libraries ( SPEX_static PUBLIC ${GMP_STATIC} )
 endif ( )
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( SPEX PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND SPEX_STATIC_LIBS "m" )
         target_link_libraries ( SPEX_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ install ( TARGETS SPEX
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS SPEX_static
         EXPORT SPEXTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/SPQR/CMakeLists.txt b/SPQR/CMakeLists.txt
index 91e7cec7d6..0699143880 100644
--- a/SPQR/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/SPQR/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ target_include_directories ( SPQR
 # static spqr library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( SPQR_static STATIC ${SPQR_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( SPQR_static PROPERTIES
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ endif ( )
 
 # SuiteSparseConfig:
 target_link_libraries ( SPQR PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( SPQR_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ endif ( )
 # OpenMP:
 if ( OPENMP_FOUND )
     target_link_libraries ( SPQR PRIVATE OpenMP::OpenMP_CXX )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( SPQR_static PUBLIC OpenMP::OpenMP_CXX )
         list ( APPEND SPQR_STATIC_LIBS ${OpenMP_CXX_LIBRARIES} )
     endif ( )
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( SPQR PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND SPQR_STATIC_LIBS "m" )
         target_link_libraries ( SPQR_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ message ( STATUS "LAPACK include:      ${LAPACK_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
 message ( STATUS "LAPACK linker flags: ${LAPACK_LINKER_FLAGS} ")
 target_link_libraries ( SPQR PRIVATE ${LAPACK_LIBRARIES} )
 target_include_directories ( SPQR PRIVATE ${LAPACK_INCLUDE_DIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     list ( APPEND SPQR_STATIC_LIBS ${LAPACK_LIBRARIES} )
     target_link_libraries ( SPQR_static PUBLIC ${LAPACK_LIBRARIES} )
     target_include_directories ( SPQR_static PRIVATE ${LAPACK_INCLUDE_DIR} )
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ message ( STATUS "BLAS include:        ${BLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
 message ( STATUS "BLAS linker flags:   ${BLAS_LINKER_FLAGS} ")
 target_link_libraries ( SPQR PRIVATE ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
 target_include_directories ( SPQR PRIVATE ${BLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     list ( APPEND SPQR_STATIC_LIBS ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
     target_link_libraries ( SPQR_static PUBLIC ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
     target_include_directories ( SPQR_static PRIVATE ${BLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS} )
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ endif ( )
 # CHOLMOD:
 # link with CHOLMOD and its dependencies
 target_link_libraries ( SPQR PRIVATE SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( SPQR_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ if ( SUITESPARSE_CUDA )
         SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_CUDA SPQR_CUDA GPUQREngine GPURuntime )
     target_compile_definitions ( SPQR PUBLIC "SUITESPARSE_CUDA" )
     set ( SPQR_CFLAGS "-DSUITESPARSE_CUDA" )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_CUDA_static )
             target_link_libraries ( SPQR_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_CUDA_static )
         else ( )
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ install ( TARGETS SPQR
     LIBRARY DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS SPQR_static
         EXPORT SPQRTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR} )
diff --git a/SPQR/GPUQREngine/CMakeLists.txt b/SPQR/GPUQREngine/CMakeLists.txt
index 93e686178f..715e8f4d19 100644
--- a/SPQR/GPUQREngine/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/SPQR/GPUQREngine/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ target_include_directories ( GPUQREngine
 # static gpuqrengine library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( GPUQREngine_static STATIC ${GPUQRENGINE_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( GPUQREngine_static PROPERTIES
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ install ( TARGETS GPUQREngine
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS GPUQREngine_static
         EXPORT GPUQREngineTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/SPQR/GPURuntime/CMakeLists.txt b/SPQR/GPURuntime/CMakeLists.txt
index 9bae8056b7..ae02ba56b6 100644
--- a/SPQR/GPURuntime/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/SPQR/GPURuntime/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ target_include_directories ( GPURuntime
 # static suitesparse_gpuruntime library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( GPURuntime_static STATIC ${SUITESPARSE_GPURUNTIME_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( GPURuntime_static PROPERTIES
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ install ( TARGETS GPURuntime
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS GPURuntime_static
         EXPORT SuiteSparse_GPURuntimeTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/SPQR/SPQRGPU/CMakeLists.txt b/SPQR/SPQRGPU/CMakeLists.txt
index d86a35fa77..5957001b58 100644
--- a/SPQR/SPQRGPU/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/SPQR/SPQRGPU/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ set_target_properties ( SPQR_CUDA PROPERTIES
     OUTPUT_NAME spqr_cuda
     SOVERSION ${SPQR_VERSION_MAJOR} )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( SPQR_CUDA_static STATIC ${SPQR_CUDA_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( SPQR_CUDA_static PROPERTIES
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ target_link_libraries ( SPQR_CUDA PRIVATE SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD )
 target_link_libraries ( SPQR_CUDA PRIVATE CUDA::nvrtc CUDA::cudart_static
     CUDA::nvToolsExt CUDA::cublas )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     target_include_directories ( SPQR_CUDA_static PRIVATE
         "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:GPUQREngine,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>"
         "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:GPURuntime,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ install ( TARGETS SPQR_CUDA
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR} )
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS SPQR_CUDA_static
         EXPORT SPQR_CUDATargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR} )
diff --git a/SuiteSparse_config/CMakeLists.txt b/SuiteSparse_config/CMakeLists.txt
index ba72d21e17..7c66bb23ef 100644
--- a/SuiteSparse_config/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/SuiteSparse_config/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ target_include_directories ( SuiteSparseConfig
 # static SuiteSparseConfig library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( SuiteSparseConfig_static STATIC ${SUITESPARSECONFIG_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( SuiteSparseConfig_static PROPERTIES
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( SuiteSparseConfig PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( SuiteSparseConfig_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
 endif ( )
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ if ( OPENMP_FOUND )
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C include:        ${OpenMP_C_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C flags:          ${OpenMP_C_FLAGS} ")
     target_link_libraries ( SuiteSparseConfig PRIVATE ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( SuiteSparseConfig_static PUBLIC ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
     endif ( )
     set ( CMAKE_C_FLAGS  "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} ${OpenMP_C_FLAGS} " )
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ install ( FILES
     ${SUITESPARSE_CMAKE_MODULES}
     DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_PKGFILEDIR}/cmake/SuiteSparse
     COMPONENT Development )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS SuiteSparseConfig_static
         EXPORT SuiteSparse_configTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
diff --git a/SuiteSparse_config/Config/README.md.in b/SuiteSparse_config/Config/README.md.in
index 6a8161acdd..66f6cb067f 100644
--- a/SuiteSparse_config/Config/README.md.in
+++ b/SuiteSparse_config/Config/README.md.in
@@ -644,11 +644,12 @@ Compilation options
 
 You can set specific options for CMake with the command (for example):
 
-    cmake -DNPARTITION=ON -DNSTATIC=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
+    cmake -DNPARTITION=ON -DBUILD_STATIC_LIBS=OFF -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..
 
 That command will compile all of SuiteSparse except for CHOLMOD/Partition
 Module (because of `-DNPARTITION=ON`).  Debug mode will be used (the build
-type).  The static libraries will not be built (since `-DNSTATIC=ON` is set).
+type).  The static libraries will not be built (since `-DBUILD_STATIC_LIBS=OFF`
+is set).
 
 * `SUITESPARSE_ENABLE_PROJECTS`:
 
@@ -679,11 +680,11 @@ type).  The static libraries will not be built (since `-DNSTATIC=ON` is set).
     sudo cmake --install .
 ```
 
-* `NSTATIC`:
+* `BUILD_STATIC_LIBS`:
 
-  If `ON`, static libraries are not built.
-  Default: `OFF`, except for GraphBLAS, which takes a long time to compile so
-  the default for GraphBLAS is `ON`.
+  If `ON`, static libraries are also built.
+  Default: `ON`, except for GraphBLAS, which takes a long time to compile so
+  the default for GraphBLAS is `OFF`.
 
 * `SUITESPARSE_CUDA_ARCHITECTURES`:
 
diff --git a/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake b/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake
index a3323a9f9a..e3573426ec 100644
--- a/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake
+++ b/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparsePolicy.cmake
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@
 #                       Set CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX instead.
 #                       Default: false
 #
-#   NSTATIC:            if true, static libraries are not built.
-#                       Default: false, except for GraphBLAS, which
+#   BUILD_STATIC_LIBS:  if true, static libraries are built.
+#                       Default: true, except for GraphBLAS, which
 #                       takes a long time to compile so the default for
-#                       GraphBLAS is true.
+#                       GraphBLAS is false.
 #
 #   SUITESPARSE_CUDA_ARCHITECTURES:  a string, such as "all" or
 #                       "35;50;75;80" that lists the CUDA architectures to use
@@ -94,11 +94,16 @@ include ( GNUInstallDirs )
 set ( CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}
     ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake_modules )
 
-# NSTATIC option
-if ( NSTATIC_DEFAULT_ON )
-    option ( NSTATIC "ON (default): do not build static libraries.  OFF: build static libraries" on )
+# BUILD_STATIC_LIBS option
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS_DEFAULT_OFF )
+    option ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS "OFF (default): do not build static libraries.  ON: build static libraries" OFF )
 else ( )
-    option ( NSTATIC "ON: do not build static libraries.  OFF (default): build static libraries" off )
+    # For backwards compatibility, use NSTATIC if it is set.
+    if ( NSTATIC )
+        option ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS "OFF: do not build static libraries.  ON (default): build static libraries" OFF )
+    else ( )
+        option ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS "OFF: do not build static libraries.  ON (default): build static libraries" ON )
+    endif ( )
 endif ( )
 
 # installation options
diff --git a/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake b/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake
index c147b6e2b5..d06f785713 100644
--- a/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake
+++ b/SuiteSparse_config/cmake_modules/SuiteSparseReport.cmake
@@ -17,11 +17,7 @@ if ( NOT SUITESPARSE_ROOT_CMAKELISTS )
     message ( STATUS "install in SuiteSparse/lib and SuiteSparse/include: ${LOCAL_INSTALL}" )
 endif ( )
 message ( STATUS "build type:           ${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" )
-if ( NSTATIC )
-    message ( STATUS "NSTATIC:              true (do not build static library)" )
-else ( )
-    message ( STATUS "NSTATIC:              false (build static library)" )
-endif ( )
+message ( STATUS "BUILD_STATIC_LIBS:    ${BUILD_STATIC_LIBS}" )
 if ( OPENMP_FOUND )
     message ( STATUS "use OpenMP:           yes ")
 else ( )
diff --git a/UMFPACK/CMakeLists.txt b/UMFPACK/CMakeLists.txt
index bf309c23a0..0e53af0012 100644
--- a/UMFPACK/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/UMFPACK/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ target_include_directories ( UMFPACK
 # static umfpack library properties
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     add_library ( UMFPACK_static STATIC ${UMFPACK_SOURCES} )
 
     set_target_properties ( UMFPACK_static PROPERTIES
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK PRIVATE SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig )
 target_include_directories ( UMFPACK PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
         target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::SuiteSparseConfig_static )
     else ( )
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ if ( OPENMP_FOUND )
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C include:        ${OpenMP_C_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
     message ( STATUS "OpenMP C flags:          ${OpenMP_C_FLAGS} ")
     target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK PRIVATE ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK_static PUBLIC ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
         list ( APPEND UMFPACK_STATIC_LIBS ${OpenMP_C_LIBRARIES} )
     endif ( )
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ endif ( )
 # libm:
 if ( NOT WIN32 )
     target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK PRIVATE m )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         list ( APPEND UMFPACK_STATIC_LIBS "m" )
         target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK_static PUBLIC m )
     endif ( )
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ endif ( )
 target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK PRIVATE SuiteSparse::AMD )
 target_include_directories ( UMFPACK PUBLIC
     "$<TARGET_PROPERTY:SuiteSparse::AMD,INTERFACE_INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES>" )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
         target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::AMD_static )
     else ( )
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ message ( STATUS "BLAS libraries:      ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} ")
 message ( STATUS "BLAS include:        ${BLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS} ")
 message ( STATUS "BLAS linker flags:   ${BLAS_LINKER_FLAGS} ")
 target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK PRIVATE ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     list ( APPEND UMFPACK_STATIC_LIBS ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
     target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK_static PUBLIC ${BLAS_LIBRARIES} )
 endif ( )
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ include_directories ( ${BLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS} )
 if ( NOT NCHOLMOD )
     # link with CHOLMOD and its dependencies, both required and optional
     target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK PRIVATE SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD )
-    if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+    if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
         set ( UMFPACK_STATIC_MODULES "${UMFPACK_STATIC_MODULES} CHOLMOD" )
         if ( TARGET SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_static )
             target_link_libraries ( UMFPACK_static PUBLIC SuiteSparse::CHOLMOD_static )
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ install ( TARGETS UMFPACK
     ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}
     RUNTIME DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_BINDIR}
     PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_INCLUDEDIR} )
-if ( NOT NSTATIC )
+if ( BUILD_STATIC_LIBS )
     install ( TARGETS UMFPACK_static
         EXPORT UMFPACKTargets
         ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${SUITESPARSE_LIBDIR}