[javascript] check if jquery has been loaded, then load it if false

Avoid using "if (!jQuery)" since IE will return the error: jQuery is 'undefined'

Instead use: if (typeof jQuery == 'undefined')

<script type="text/javascript">
if (typeof jQuery == 'undefined') {
    var script = document.createElement('script');
    script.type = "text/javascript";
    script.src = "http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.0/jquery.min.js";
    document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(script);
}
</script>

You'll also need to check if the JQuery has loaded after appending it to the header. Otherwise you'll have to wait for the window.onload event, which is slower if the page has images. Here's a sample script which checks if the JQuery file has loaded, since you won't have the convenience of being able to use $(document).ready(function...

http://neighborhood.org/core/sample/jquery/append-to-head.htm