Open access digital archives provide unprecedented opportunities for students to engage with manuscripts, multiple editions of works, and a plethora of materials once available only to credentialed scholars.  This session will demonstrate a project in which students build digital editions of lesser-known literary works found in open access digital archives (this project is easily transferable to fields beyond English).  Using a platform like WordPress, students can present archival material, contextualize its publication and/or dissemination, and analyze its importance, becoming public scholars and contributing to the production and distribution of broader knowledge about the field or subject area.  The session will discuss how to design and implement a digital editions project and the critical thinking that attends students’ building, editing, comparing, and analyzing archival materials.