FROM the secondhand desk of his tiny secondhand bookshop on Fourth Avenue, Steve Crowley can boot up his computer any time to search for out-of-print volumes. But he is still a throwback.

In October he became the first person to open a used bookshop in two decades on Fourth Avenue. What is more, his 500-square-foot Alabaster Bookshop at No. 122, between 12th and 13th Streets, is the only used bookshop on Fourth Avenue itself.

''He's determined, he's serious, he's knowledgeable,'' said a friendly competitor, Marvin Mondlin. ''And, he knows what he doesn't know.''

Mr. Mondlin should know what it takes to succeed in a trade that seems to offer long odds against success. He is senior executive vice president and estate buyer at the mighty Strand Book Store, around the corner at 828 Broadway, and has worked on and off for the Strand since 1951.

Mr. Mondlin is also writing ''Book Row America: An Anecdotal and Pictorial History of the Fourth Avenue Antiquarian Book Trade.'' And a rich history it was. Fourth Avenue from Union Square to Astor Place -- close to the literary and university life of Greenwich Village -- was often compared to the Left Bank of Paris in its abundance of bookshops.

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The Strand, which moved off Fourth Avenue in 1956, was among the two dozen shops that thrived there after World War II. But unlike the Strand owners, most of the proprietors did not have children interested in continuing the business, and couldn't afford climbing rents.

''There are lots of secondhand bookdealers out there, but you can't see them,'' said Shirley Solomon, who represents the second generation to run the Pageant Book and Print Shop, which left Fourth Avenue in 1978 and is now at 114 West Houston Street. ''They work out of offices, the World Wide Web, mail order and by appointment only. A few have opened on 18th Street off Fifth Avenue.''

Independent bookshops of all kinds have struggled in New York, and elsewhere, under the onslaught of chains. Half a dozen independents closed in the city last year, according to the American Booksellers Association.

But Mr. Crowley, who is 36 and resembles Opie on the old ''Andy Griffith Show,'' has the advantage of learning from a strong mentor. He came to New York in 1986 as a drummer, playing with underground bands in places like CBGB, but paid the rent by working on and off at the Gryphon Bookshop at Broadway and 80th Street, where one of the owners was Henry Holman.

''He showed me the ropes and taught me what books are valuable and important,'' Mr. Crowley said as he sat at his desk, on which were copies of ''Nevada Whalen Avenger'' and ''Tailspin Tommy,'' two of the Big Little Books from the 30's and 40's.

Mr. Crowley became good at buying old books and selling them on consignment for the Gryphon. He once bought a first edition of Ayn Rand for $1 and sold it for $150.

Dreaming of opening a store of his own, he used to ride his bike along Fourth Avenue from his Lower East Side walk-up. On one trip uptown last summer he spotted a for-lease sign in the window of the old Abbey Bookshop, which had fallen into disrepair. Its owner, George Foss, died last year. Mr. Crowley saw potential in the place and persuaded an uncle to lend him $15,000 to get started.

He then went before the co-op board of the building, bidding against prospective operators of a dress shop and a beauty salon. The board liked his business plan best. After Mr. Crowley got the keys in August, he pulled out all the metal bookcases and built pine shelves to replace them. One of the co-op residents gave him Persian-style throw rugs and a desk. He stacked boxes of books in his living room.

The Alabaster is in a building that was once the site of three booksellers, but the neighbors these days include an Indian restaurant, a vintage clothing shop and a hardware store.

He named the shop after a pair of alabaster bookends he once bought at the Stuyvesant Town Flea Market. His first sale was a hardbound Louise and Aylmer Maude translation of ''War and Peace'' for $8. Since then, he says, business has been going ''reasonably well'' with about 50 books sold each day. Sales of about $225 will break him even for the day. Prices range from $2 for books on the trolley outside the shop, to a few hundred dollars for rare editions and art books. There is a signed copy of a Christo book for $500. He pays from 25 cents to $1.50 for a paperback to a few hundred dollars for a first edition.

When he opens around 10 A.M., his calico cat, Houle, greets him at the door. Some friends help out part time, but Houle is always there until closing, around 8 P.M. Mr. Crowley often works on until 11.

He no longer has time to scour some of his likely sources, library sales, garage sales and flea markets. But there is a steady stream of people trying to unclutter their lives. He doesn't have time to take inventory, but by counting the shelves he estimated some 12,000 volumes, growing daily.

And it does not hurt to be close to the Strand. When its buyers reject books that people bring in, they routinely direct the sellers to the Alabaster.

''Off the whale, sea creatures exist,'' Mr. Mondlin said. ''And, why not?''

Such was the case for Abbe Aronson and her husband, Barry Wacksman. They had just cleared out three cartons of books from their loft in NoHo and found that Mr. Crowley bought some of what the Strand passed up.

''We've been together for six years,'' Ms. Aronson said, ''and decided we didn't need two copies of books like 'Bright Lights, Big City.' '' They also wanted to replace one of their bookshelves with a Nordic Track.

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