[1] When the Canadian Union of Students dissolved in 1969, a group of Toronto CUS activists decided that the literature service should be kept going as an independent organization.
After a period of time, the original collective moved on, and in 1972 a new group, initially funded by the University of Toronto Students’ Administrative Council, took over the operation.
Members of the collective during its period of peak activity included Richard Wright, Joel Lexchin, Russell Hann, Gregory Kealey, Thom Schofield, Craig Heron,[2] Krys Dobrowolski, Ulli Diemer, Elaine Farragher, Lori Rotenberg,[3] Daphne Read, Miriam Ticoll, Karolyn Kendrick, and Gus Richardson.
The press nevertheless produced a substantial list of titles through the years of its existence, and for a time was a major distributor of left-wing materials in English Canada.
A possible indicator of its perceived importance was the fact that on at least two occasions in the early 1970s, break-ins in which nothing of apparent value was stolen occurred at the premises occupied by Hogtown.