ROCKPORT — Inside Kelly Hokkanen's pocket-sized used bookstore measuring only 120 square feet, there are vast worlds — and the public is just starting to hear about it.

The Tiny Bookshop, sitting at 163 Union Street, is in a little outbuilding on the property she owns with her husband. Having opened on March 15, it is an inviting spot for anyone who loves books and bookstores. While a vast, big-box store gives off cavernous impersonal vibes, Hokkanen's minuscule shop is precisely the opposite. It invites you to come in, poke around, and have a chat.

With floor-to-ceiling shelves, the store focuses on contemporary fiction, classic fiction, Maine authors, and Maine topics. Open four days a week, there's no missing Hokkanen at her little desk in the back. She greets everyone who comes in, and most people naturally want to know how the little store came to be.

After working in the tech industry for the last two decades and their kids out of the nest, Hokkanen was musing about what her next venture in life would be. The thought kept coming back to books. She thought about working in a bookstore, but on a hike with her husband one day, they noodled the idea around of starting her own bookstore on the property.

"It was time to do something different," she said. "I'm a big reader and thought it would be fun to have a bookstore."

After getting the go-ahead from the town, which allowed a mixed-use retail business in the zoning, Hokkanen equates her shop  to the cottage businesses of farm stands on people's properties.

"The thought of leasing a huge space was a little overwhelming, so this space felt like a nice way to give it a try."

She initially sourced her inventory from her own collection of books. She knew what she liked and sourced other used books to fill the shelves. Lastly, she accepted donations from other book lovers to round out the collection.

"It's been really fun to see what people are picking off the shelves," she said. "People have told me that in a big bookstore, they might only browse one section, but with the small shop, they have more time to discover more titles, not just the current best sellers."

The tiny shop is the only owner-operated tiny bookshop in Maine and already a book lover's driving destination. There is another small used bookshop in Camden that's been around for decades, called Stone Soup, and yet, another in Sedgwick called Pushcart Press, which is 9 x 12 feet wide and operates on the honor system.

Hokkanen said she's just started a couple of book clubs and will have more events this summer. To stay up on the bookshop's news, visit their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com