Compilations?

In its default mode, iTunes organizes "song" entries by Artist. However, there are times when you don't want it to do this; for example, if you have an anthology where every piece is by a different artist, and you have 12 different tracks, this would mean that your album is spread out over a dozen separate file folders located in different places.

If the "compilations box" is checked, this means that iTunes will organized the entries into a folder by Album name instead of by Artist. So if you have a collection of short stories or poems that are all by the same author, and enter the author's name in the Artist field, you probably don't want to designate this as a compilation -- grouping all the stories under the single author is fine. (Then again, you might want to have compilation checked if all the rest of this author's work is in novel format, and you want to separate off the one collection of short stories by its title.)

However, if you have a collection of short stories or poems by lots of different authors, you probably do want to check the compilation box, so that all these are grouped together under the same (Album) heading. It's simply a decision about whether you'd prefer to have the tracks organized by Album name or by Artist. Hope this helps.