Itunes library on an external hard drive for the Ipad?

Does anyone know of a way that I can access an iTunes library through an external hard drive on the ipad?  Currently, I have an external hard drive connected through an airport base station.  From my ipad, I can connect to this hard drive and see all my media files (using the FileBrowser app); however I cannot create playlists or let the music play on a loop.  Is there a way I can import this library of music into itunes and still have it reference the external hard drive location? 
I have this setup on my computer to keep the hard drive clean and am trying to do the same with the hard drive. 
Any suggestions?

I have my iTunes library on my hard drive, but keep a number of mp3's on an external hard drive..but here are some things I looked at to get an idea how to best manage this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1473 ( adding content on your computer to iTunes section..important to avoid duplication)
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2723211
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
Hope this helps. 

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