The Library of Congress has just set up shop on YouTube. On this new channel, you’ll find some new and vintage footage. Above, we’re directing your attention to a clip called “Boxing Cats.” It’s from 1894 and was produced by Thomas Edison’s Black Maria film studio in West Orange, New Jersey.

On Thursday, we announced the launch of YouTube EDU. Now, as promised, it’s time to give you some more details about the new university video hub.
I had a chance to chat with Obadiah Greenberg, a key Googler behind the launch. And he gave me some insight into the genesis of the project.

Here’s a little breaking news: Today, Google has launched YouTube EDU, which centralizes the content from over 100 universities and colleges (get list here).  This robust collection gives you access to lectures by professors and world-renowned thought leaders, new research and campus tours.

It was time to do something new. So I bought an acoustic guitar and decided to see what I could learn on my own. And this, then, led me to look for free resources on the web. Not shockingly, YouTube has a fair amount to offer. A number of different video providers have posted lessons that can get you going.

It’s another good day for the open education movement. As part of an experiment, YouTube has partnered with a select number of universities (Stanford, UC Berkeley, Duke, and UCLA) to make lectures, courses and other videos available for free download.

Given that we were talking about the historical Jesus yesterday, this piece in the Utne Reader caught my eye …
What happens when you’re running a 14th century convent in Southern Spain that’s nearly broke? You could call up Jake and Elwood.

YouTube has had the mass market locked up for some time. But, during the past year, it has been giving a little nod to more “highbrow” viewers. We’ve seen channels sprouting up on YouTube that feature content produced by universities and other high-value content providers.

We’re about to witness the beginning of the YouTube Presidency, as The Washington Post has dubbed it. When Barack Obama takes office in late January, he plans to give a new twist to a longstanding tradition.

Add another one to our collection: Intelligent Life at YouTube: 75 Educational Video Collections
UCLA has brought their videos to YouTube, joining a growing number of other well-respected cultural and educational institutions.

This is perhaps a first: A university-sponsored video collection on YouTube that hangs together and contributes to developing a larger body of knowledge. The University of Nottingham has launched a channel called The Periodic Table of Videos, which offers a video for each element on the periodic table.