The Hans Toch Memorial Collection
Hans Herbert Toch (April 17, 1930 – June 18, 2021) . In a 1986 profile of Distinguished Professor Toch, published by the University at Albany magazine, Hans had produced by then much of what many professors would hope to achieve in a lifetime. To paraphrase one of his serious offenders, who said “I am not now what I used to be then,” Hans might have said today, “I am now more of who I used to be then.” Hans was already prolific in 1986, and never slowed down (except for a couple of weeks when he had triple bypass surgery). The major part of his career was at the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany where he spawned innovative research both in substance and methodology. Many of his students went on to become great researchers and communicators themselves. In short, Professor Toch became much more of what he was then.
About this collection. It is roughly divided into three: (1) Hans’s unpublished, pre-published and draft papers; (2) Full text to the extent possible of all Professor Toch’s publications (3) Full text of his library of conference proceedings, research reports, and the many classic texts he kept in his library.le to
Our thanks to Hans’s daughter Michelle Dinsmore for permission to make this treasure trove available to all.
What Hans Presented
Hans reproduced in detail what his subjects — inmates, offenders, police, guards — said in answer to his questions, coaxing us to see the world from their perspective. His unique social psychological approach to crime, corrections and policing helped shape the School of Criminal Justice at Albany and to set the framework of many criminal justice programs throughout the United States.
What Hans wrote
We counted about 30 books in all that Hans either authored or edited, though mostly authored. There are about 130 journal and magazine articles, and 52 chapters in books, and, finally, some 50 book reviews.
What Hans read
The Toch Memorial Library contains digital versions of many favorite books, magazines, and journal articles. Along with his own works, they covered just about every space on all four walls of his office. Very few of the books remain untouched. They are all copiously underlined. Not only did Hans collect books, but he truly read all of them. We have preserved the underlining so you can see for yourself what Professor Toch thought was important in whatever he read.
Collectibles
Honorifics and other items of historical interest including correspondence and letters from admirers.