This Day in History (1983): Loss Prevention Film Library doing more, doing it better

From the Aug. 24, 1983, edition of The Arabian Sun

Most Aramcons, from toddlers to adults, have seen a safety film.

Whether at community events such as safety rodeos, at home while watching television, or on-the-job during driver-training seminars, safety films highlight the importance of safety education for the employee as well as the community.

With more than 1,000 films covering home, industrial, and personal safety, the Loss Prevention Film Library encompasses an extensive range of subjects from bicycle safety to industrial housekeeping.

When the film library started more than four years ago, an average of 18 films per week were distributed. There was only one librarian to handle distribution, and no equipment to clean or repair damaged films.

Today, two librarians handle a volume of about 150 films that are issued weekly to Aramco users from Yanbu' to points offshore in the Gulf, and the service has been expanded to include Aramco contractor firms and the Saudi governmental organizations.

The film library, located in Dhahran's Materials Supply complex, offers a preview/conference room for those who wish to preview films to plan safety programs in their organizations.

Although the main responsibility of the librarians is to catalog, issue, and make sure the films are cleaned and repaired, the scope of their responsibility has changed as the film library expanded in size and volume.

Caption for top photo: Madhi al-Sarrar of Loss Prevention previews and cleans a film in the Loss Prevention Film Library.

Also on this date

2020 — Erin O'Toole is elected leader of the conservative Party of Canada

2006 — The International Astronomical Union redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is downgraded to be a dwarf planet

1998 — The First radio-frequency identification human implantation is tested in the U.K.

1991 — Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist party of the Soviet Union

1981 — Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon

1967 — The Youth International Party, led by Abbie Hoffman, temporarily disrupts trading at the new York Stock Exchange by throwing dollar bills from the viewing gallery, causing trading to cease as brokers scramble to grab them

1954 — The Communist Control Act goes into effect, outlawing the American Communist Party

1949 — The treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization goes into effect

1936 — The Australian Antarctic Territory is created

1932 — Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the U.S. nonstop from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey

1911 — Manuel de Arriaga is elected and sworn in as the first President of Portugal

1857 — The Panic of 1857 begins, setting off one of the most severe economic crises in U.S. history

1789 — The first naval battle of the Svensksund begins in the Gulf of Finland

1743 — In the War of the Hats, the Swedish army surrenders to the Russians in Helsinki, ending the war and starting "Lesser Wrath"

1608 — The first official English representative to India lands in Surat

1561 — Willem of Orange marries duchess Anna of Saxony