Suggestions for large iTunes library?

I have a very large iTunes library (110G) on an external drive, which I use only occasionally. The rest of the time, I use a smaller on on my MacBook.
When I want to use the large one, which I usually do via Airport, it can take hours to update itself. The "Genius" for example, can take hours just by itself... Then it does something for "gapless playback" or something...
Why does it need to do all of this stuff, and why does it take so long? Is all of this updating done on the external drive so it won't have to be updated again from another computer? (so, for example, if my wife opens that library from her computer.)
Or does anyone have tips for managing a large iTunes library that is only used infrequently?
Thanks,
Mark

"One more question, if you do have a second library you option into, are the library documents on the external drive or in your music/iTunes folder?" So they have all been on the external drive. I called Apple Support about dead tracks issue, and the 1st guy told me I SHOULD split them up, but that caused issues and I called back and the 2nd guy told me NOT to do that, so I've left them all on the external drive. The 2nd guy seemed more knowledgeable than the 1st guy.
I was hoping you weren't going to say that. My thought was that the library needed to be on the machine with the music so that multiple libraries on different machines weren't trying to manage the same music. So much for that theory.
This being the case, it would be interesting to see how it behaves if the library lives on your macbook.
This experiment would be easy and risk free:
Option into "create a new library" and create this new library in your music folder on your macbook.
While in this blank library go to the advanced preference tab and deselect "Copy files to the itunes media folder.....)
Then, from the itunes file menu browse to the music folder on the external drive and select it.
This will build a library that lives on your machine while the music files continue to live on the external.
This experiment is only worthwhile if you are sure that the library database for the music on the external drive lives on that external drive.
The risk with having the library live on your machine is that another library on another machine might also try to manage this music (your wife's machine for example) potentially causing a mismatch between your library and the music folder.
I hope that makes sense.

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