Abstract: This contribution is based on the personal teaching experience in medieval and early modern history and paleography of the two authors. It presents how today’s students use historical primary sources, and how they are trained at the University of Lausanne to edit medieval and early modern sources. The paper questions the role of new technologies in scientific editing, asking if complicated computers technologies are as helpful as is often thought for young editors and for readers who are looking for an easy access to primary sources. It moreover shows that a broader online accessibility to published primary sources is required to meet the needs of students and scholars.