While the complete history of the Internet could easily fill a few books, this article should familiarize you with key milestones and events related to the growth and evolution of the Internet between 1969 to 2009.
Karen Coyle helps the Open Library team navigate the twisty paths of the forest that is library metadata. A little while ago, we were lucky to have her present her view of its origins at the Internet Archive. I thoroughly enjoyed her presentation and I thought someone else might so I've rewritten my notes from the session as an exciting love-and-death-style account of librarianship over the years.