The small, unassuming beige building at the corner of Main and Pershing in Covington may seem like a footnote compared to the boisterous bars and trendy restaurants along MainStrasse, but inside the modest building lies a library of literature.

Named Scribbles, its first room welcomes customers with a gigantic counter, filled with a variety of teas, coffees and cookies. Clients who venture into the second room will see the walls and windows obscured by shelves bursting with books.

And it’s in this room that, on the fourth Thursday of every month, Northern Kentucky University students and professors gather to share the fruits of their creative labor.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get a direct response to your work,” said Blaise Weller, an NKU English professor who teaches a creative writing class. “You can tell if a work is hitting or missing.”

Rodney Wilson, who co-owns Scribbles with his mother Sandy Wilson and wife Carla Wilson, opened Scribbles more than four years ago. He graduated from NKU with a degree in English in 2000, but kept ties with creative writing professor Andy Miller. After opening Scribbles, he invited Miller to bring NKU students to read their writing.

At that time, Miller said, another caf