I think Negative best convered it with
In iTunes, just go to File --> Add folder to library.
How about the question of why iTunes? From what I've read it doesn't sound like you'll be buying .AAC encoded music from the iTunes music store.

Why not use an alternative to iTunes like MediaMonkey or Winamp? Both support transfering music to an iPod. I personally have experience with MediaMonkey and it works great for a music manager/metadata editor/playlist creator/etc.

Or you can find other alternatives putting your collection on your player. A simple Google search provided this useful tip:
http://www.cnet.com.au/mp3players/mp...0061466,00.htm

My 2 cents