Kirjavigade

Kirjavigade is a term used in Estonian bibliographic and historical discussions to refer to markings left by readers inside books. It includes marginalia in the margins, notes between lines, underlinings, highlights, doodles, and ownership or library inscriptions. Although etymologically formed from kirja “book/letter” and vaga “fault” or “defect,” the term is used descriptively to denote reader-added content rather than material produced by authors or printers.

The practice spans various genres and periods; inscriptions on title pages, notes in margins, and later library markings may all be considered part of kirjavigade in some contexts. Researchers study kirjavigade to understand reading practices, education, and reception history, as these markings reveal what readers paid attention to and how they interpreted texts.

Conservation and digitization considerations are important: libraries balance preservation with access for study, guarding the integrity of the original volumes while sometimes opting to digitize pages to capture markings without additional handling.

Variability in definition means the scope of kirjavigade can differ between collections and scholarly traditions. Some researchers emphasize only reader annotations, while others include ownership marks and institutional stamps as part of the same phenomenon.

See also: marginalia, annotations, reader response.