[MSN] The Houston Public Library is the latest victim of the spate of copper theft that has spread across the United States in the last two years.

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Copper Thieves Cause Power Outage, Damage at Houston Library
Jennifer Pinkowski -- Library Journal, 12/5/2007

The Houston Public Library is the latest victim of the spate of copper theft
that has spread across the United States in the last two years. On December
3, staff at the Julia Ideson Building, which houses the Houston Metropolitan
Research Center and is the temporary location of the downtown Central
Library's reference and circulation services as that library undergoes a
renovation, discovered that thieves had cut the wiring leading to the
generator and emergency panel. The library lost power to the elevator,
emergency lighting for the staircases, and the fire alarm, according to the
Houston Chronicle. The library was shut down for the day. Damages are
estimated to be as much as $25,000. 

Copper is very attractive to thieves, as a building boom in Asia has boosted
the price of the commodity about 400 percent in the last few years. Along
with other public facilities like power stations and schools, libraries
nationwide have been victims of copper thieves, who score an amount of metal
that is worth a fraction of the damage they cause. The copper is often sold
at recycling plants to fund the thieves' drug habits, law enforcement
officials say. Many states are considering legislation to combat the
phenomenon, including punishing recycling facilities for buying stolen metal
and making copper theft a felony. 

http://www.libraryjournal.com/