The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN is bringing content to their users on the Walker Channel via iTunes U. In their words:

The Walker recently launched a new site in the educational area of the iTunes Store called iTunes U, Beyond Campus. Beyond Campus features a broad range of audio and video material from sources other than colleges and universities, such as American Public Media, PBS, the Museum of Modern Art, and Smithsonian Global Sound. Now iTunes audiences can easily search, download, and play Walker content just like they do music and movies.

Why aren’t public libraries using iTunes U to share and distribute unique content? Rather than use vendors who offer awkward, unusable interfaces and products, why not use iTunes?  I’ll bet its installed on 90% of the computers in the country.  This is a great opportunity to go to our users, rather than make them come and find us.  Best of all it makes everything mobile on the iPod.

This brings me to another brief point.  I mentioned in the last post after the panel discussion at Pratt just how important it is to stay in touch with libraryland news.  While that is true, in my opinion it is also sooooo very important to look at the rest of the world, and to listen, borrow, and learn from other disciplines.  Clever ideas that will improve your library can come from all kinds of places… thanks to the Walker Art Center for this one…