For audio-book addicts, the King County Library System has something for you and you don't even have to set foot in a library.

Last November, the county library became the first in the nation to allow people to download audio "e-books" to home computers.

An e-book can be downloaded from the library's Web site onto a computer and either burned to a CD or transferred to an MP3 player.

For free.

"King County is by far and away the leader," said Steve Potash, president of OverDrive, which provides the free software that allows patrons to download files from the library's Web site. "It was the first in the country to download audio books, and almost every week two or three more library systems open up."

Today, Potash said, some 200 libraries in the country offer e-books. The Seattle Public Library doesn't, but that could change. "The Seattle Public Library is very interested and excited about e-books and will probably introduce it later this year," said library spokeswoman Andra Addison.

The new e-book program targets not only the visually impaired but also those who are homebound and those who are out of town but still want to use the library.

King County library patrons can simply sign onto the library's Web site, find books in the archives and download them onto a home computer.

"You could be in the middle of the ocean and check out [Ernest Hemingway's] 'The Old Man and the Sea' while you're rowing across the Atlantic," said Marsha Iverson, King County library spokeswoman.

Jean Marston, who uses the Redmond library, said she had never listened to books on tape but was drawn to the new e-books because of the ease of downloading them. She just finished Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."

"I like it because I don't have a physical item I have to remember to return and no overdue worry," Marston said. "I was blown away by the quality and am anxious to keep doing it. I got sucked in."

An e-book can be virtually checked out for a month and, when the due date arrives, the book expires and can no longer be listened to unless it is burned onto a CD or transferred to an MP3 player. If borrowers don't finish an e-book and haven't burned it or downloaded it to another device, it can be checked out again — but borrowers may face long waiting lists because the libraries are licensed to provide only a few copies of each e-book.

And there's no way to turn the book in early.

Roman Frillarte, another e-book user from Redmond, said he was amazed that King County offers not only downloadable e-books but that patrons also can check out MP3 players with audio books on them.

"It blew me away," said Frillarte, who does technology development for a publishing company. "What a great community and great county to live in. We have some nice people living here."

There's no dispute that the interest in audio books is growing. Publishers have reported a 14 percent increase in recent sales.

Potash, with OverDrive, said he is working with publishers to increase the number of books available as e-book downloads. But he said it's a balancing act to persuade publishers that they should participate.

He said his company also is trying to offer more nonfiction titles and will even offer digital Cliff's Notes study guides.

At the King County libraries, Iverson said, if someone wants to check out a book that's not available, a hold can be placed on it and the patron will be notified when it's available.

"With a library number, you simply download that electronic file onto your own playback device," she said, "and you don't need to come to the library at all."

But if you're in a hurry to listen to a book, be patient. There are 246 people on the average waiting list and the average wait time is 11 days.

From the 220 books available when the service was announced in November, there are now 817 titles available. Nearly 1,500 people have checked out e-books.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054