But soon, a bus of a different sort will roll through town.

As a guest of University Libraries, C-SPAN's new Book TV Bus, 45 feet long with a mobile television studio, will be just west of Mallinckrodt Student Center on the Hilltop Campus from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 20.

Each weekend, Book TV on C-SPAN2 presents 48 hours of programming on nonfiction books, featuring interviews with authors and book group discussions.

University students, faculty and staff are being invited to board the bus for free presentations about Book TV and to meet the C-SPAN staff.

Visitors will be able to tour the state-of-the-art studio set, participate in interactive demonstrations about Book TV, and watch video clips of authors who have appeared on Book TV, including Susan Sontag, David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Thomas Friedman, Toni Morrison, Laura Hillenbrand and John McCain.

The Book TV Bus' small production spaces permit groups of 10 people on at a time and do not allow for wheelchair accessibility. Live video cameras transmit views of the bus interior to an external plasma screen, however.

Video presentations about Book TV and the Book TV Bus have also been captioned for hearing-impaired visitors.

Book TV's Web site, www.booktv.org, provides an opportunity to watch or listen to programs and gives additional information on the writers and their books.

For more information, call 935-5418.