How to route iTunes to music folders on external hard drive?

Here's my story: Three years ago, I successfully rerouted iTunes so that the program would find my music library on external hard drive. Two days ago, my Apple MacBook computer was updated to the Lion operating system. iTunes was also updated.
Now I have to go back into iTunes and give the program new instruction to go find the music files on external hard drive.
Details:
My folder on external hard drive, called "iTunes Music," contains various music files and also, I notice, a folder called "iTunes."
Within that "iTunes" folder, the following folders or files are located:
FOLDER: Album Artwork
FOLDER: Automatically Add to iTunes
FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library.itl
FILE: iTunes Linrary.xml
FOLDER: iTunes Media
None of this makes any sense to me!
Meanwhile, on the computer's hard drive, following this routing, in the folder called "iTunes," the following folders and files are located:
Users -- Hard Drive -- Music -- iTunes
FOLDER: Album Artwork
FOLDER: Album Artwork 6.29.26 PM
FOLDER: Automatically Add to iTunes
FILE: iTunes Library 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Library.itl
FOLDER: iTunes Media
FOLDER: iTunes Media 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Music Library 6.29.26 PM.xml
FILE: iTunes Music Library.xml
I do not understand any of this. I do not understand WHICH FILE OR FOLDER I should instruct iTunes to go to in order to find the desired music files.
Once the desired files are found, they should appear in the iTunes window on screen. This is not happening.
I have tried holding down the Option key while starting iTunes, which yields a window that asks for me to CHOOSE LIBRARY. I choose the iTunes library file ( iTunes Library.itl) that is located on external hard drive. However, NOTHING HAPPENS. iTunes does not do anything. When the program opens, nothing is visible in the iTunes window, where normally songs are listed. No playlists on the lefthand side. NOTHING.
Thanks for your attention and for any insight you might be able to share.

Just so people know, there's already been several posts on this in this forum:  https://discussions.apple.com/message/18642460

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