Government and preservation-related sites on the web are an excellent place to look for Main St. information. Browsers can even download documents and forms, like the National Register of Historic Places registration form, or National Park Service Preservation Briefs.
Some excellent links we've found include:
A page on the National Park Service's Technical Services web page provides links to the complete text of Preservation Briefs #1-40, covering topics like "The Preservation of Historic Signs," "Rehabilitating Historic Storefronts," and "Aluminum and Vinyl Siding on Historic Buildings." Preservation Briefs Online
At the National Register of Historic Places site, visitors can download articles on evaluating and nominating sites for national register designation, or find out how to research a historic property and complete the NRHP registration forms. NPS Form 10-900 is the basic National Register registration form, readily available to web searchers to download. National Register Forms.
Articles online from Governing and Congressional Quarterly magazines include controversial topics, including articles on brownfields sites and the pros and cons of the New Urbanist movement.
Another hot topic is rails-to-trails, and the Rails to Trails Conservancy documents successful programs where old, unused railroad tracks were turned into biking and hiking trails. For parking-related issues, there's www.parking.org
The U.S. Nonprofit Gateway provides notices of funding sources -- from government agency programs to private grants -- and provides links to a host of government agencies.
The Building Officials and Code Administrators International Site provides BOCA code information, and links to code information for organizations around the country.