From the FAQs

If you allow your eTD to be freely available worldwide, which we recommend (see below for reasons and for discussion of other options), we will work to make your eTD as easily available as possible. First, we will allow access over the World Wide Web, so people can link to our collection for browsing, and even link directly to your eTD (with a special type of URL that is not subject to change). Second, in the record for your eTD that will be in the Penn State library catalog, we will have link information, so those searching that catalog can link directly to the eTD. Third, we will provide one or more search engines so that people can search the Penn State eTD collection using "full-text" searching. Fourth, we will have a mechanism so that your eTD can be found by anyone seeking to search the NDLTD (i.e., the full distributed collection of eTDs made available by institutions that are part of the initiative). Fifth, we will work with third party organizations, such as UMI and OCLC (a not-for-profit in Dublin, Ohio that provides library cataloging and other services to libraries), to encourage them to provide access as well as archiving services.