diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 825fc453..ab3248ee 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,7 +41,20 @@ cmake_dependent_option(GLFW_USE_WAYLAND "Use Wayland for window creation" OFF
 cmake_dependent_option(USE_MSVC_RUNTIME_LIBRARY_DLL "Use MSVC runtime library DLL" ON
                        "MSVC" OFF)
 
-if (BUILD_SHARED_LIBS AND UNIX)
+set(GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE "${GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE}" CACHE STRING
+    "Library type override for GLFW (SHARED, STATIC, OBJECT, or empty to follow BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)")
+
+if (GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE)
+    if (GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE STREQUAL "SHARED")
+        set(GLFW_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY TRUE)
+    else()
+        set(GLFW_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY FALSE)
+    endif()
+else()
+    set(GLFW_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY ${BUILD_SHARED_LIBS})
+endif()
+
+if (UNIX AND GLFW_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY)
     # On Unix-like systems, shared libraries can use the soname system.
     set(GLFW_LIB_NAME glfw)
 else()
@@ -49,7 +62,7 @@ else()
 endif()
 
 if (GLFW_VULKAN_STATIC)
-    if (BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
+    if (GLFW_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY)
         # If you absolutely must do this, remove this line and add the Vulkan
         # loader static library via the CMAKE_SHARED_LINKER_FLAGS
         message(FATAL_ERROR "You are trying to link the Vulkan loader static library into the GLFW shared library")
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3e529076..98b49733 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -129,6 +129,8 @@ information on what to include when reporting a bug.
    values to select ANGLE backend (#1380)
  - Added `GLFW_X11_XCB_VULKAN_SURFACE` init hint for selecting X11 Vulkan
    surface extension (#1793)
+ - Added `GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE` CMake variable for overriding the library type
+   (#279,#1307,#1497,#1574,#1928)
  - Made joystick subsystem initialize at first use (#1284,#1646)
  - Made `GLFW_DOUBLEBUFFER` a read-only window attribute
  - Updated the minimum required CMake version to 3.1
diff --git a/docs/compile.dox b/docs/compile.dox
index a5367110..d5b839d6 100644
--- a/docs/compile.dox
+++ b/docs/compile.dox
@@ -239,9 +239,18 @@ cmake -S path/to/glfw -B path/to/build -D BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON
 @subsection compile_options_shared Shared CMake options
 
 @anchor BUILD_SHARED_LIBS
-__BUILD_SHARED_LIBS__ determines whether GLFW is built as a static
-library or as a DLL / shared library / dynamic library.  This is disabled by
-default, producing a static GLFW library.
+__BUILD_SHARED_LIBS__ determines whether GLFW is built as a static library or as
+a DLL / shared library / dynamic library.  This is disabled by default,
+producing a static GLFW library.  This variable has no `GLFW_` prefix because it
+is defined by CMake.  If you want to change the library only for GLFW when it is
+part of a larger project, see @ref GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE.
+
+@anchor GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE
+__GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE__ allows you to override @ref BUILD_SHARED_LIBS only for
+GLFW, without affecting other libraries in a larger project.  When set, the
+value of this option must be a valid CMake library type.  Set it to `STATIC` to
+build GLFW as a static library, `SHARED` to build it as a shared library
+/ dynamic library / DLL, or `OBJECT` to make GLFW a CMake object library.
 
 @anchor GLFW_BUILD_EXAMPLES
 __GLFW_BUILD_EXAMPLES__ determines whether the GLFW examples are built
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index d15838e0..ea16f195 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 
-add_library(glfw "${GLFW_SOURCE_DIR}/include/GLFW/glfw3.h"
+add_library(glfw ${GLFW_LIBRARY_TYPE}
+                 "${GLFW_SOURCE_DIR}/include/GLFW/glfw3.h"
                  "${GLFW_SOURCE_DIR}/include/GLFW/glfw3native.h"
                  internal.h mappings.h context.c init.c input.c monitor.c
                  vulkan.c window.c)
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ if (_GLFW_WAYLAND)
         "${GLFW_BINARY_DIR}/src/wayland-idle-inhibit-unstable-v1-client-protocol")
 endif()
 
-if (WIN32 AND BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
+if (WIN32 AND GLFW_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY)
     configure_file(glfw.rc.in glfw.rc @ONLY)
     target_sources(glfw PRIVATE "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/glfw.rc")
 endif()
@@ -201,7 +202,7 @@ if (_GLFW_X11 OR _GLFW_WAYLAND OR _GLFW_OSMESA)
     endif()
 endif()
 
-if (BUILD_SHARED_LIBS)
+if (GLFW_BUILD_SHARED_LIBRARY)
     if (WIN32)
         if (MINGW)
             # Remove the dependency on the shared version of libgcc