Remembering Patricia Coffman: Tulane Law’s First Female Librarian and a Pioneer in Legal Education
In the summer of 1969, Patricia Joyce Coffman joined Tulane Law School as its first female Law Librarian, a trailblazing appointment that reflected her expertise and leadership in legal research and library science.
Coffman was appointed Law Librarian and Professor of Law, the title given to the faculty member in charge of the Law Library at the time. Her arrival came during a pivotal period of growth for the law school. She served on the New Law Building Committee, which oversaw the renovation of the former Howard-Tilton Library into the law school’s new home, Joseph Merrick Jones Hall, in 1970. Her work helped shape not only the development of the library’s collections and organization but also its role as a central hub for scholarship and research at Tulane Law.
A graduate of Cumberland School of Law (LL.B., 1951), Coffman earned four degrees—B.A., M.A., LL.B., and LL.M.—and was admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1951. Before joining Tulane, she directed and expanded law libraries at institutions across the United States and Canada, including Mercer University, the University of Santa Clara, Cumberland School of Law, Drake University, and the University of Alberta. At Alberta and Cumberland, she also helped guide the design of the university’s new law building, a role she would later reprise at Tulane.
In April 1972, Coffman was injured in a house fire and passed away a few days later. Her colleagues and students remembered her for her intellect, kindness, and professionalism. The Patricia J. Coffman Memorial Prize at the University of Alberta continues to honor her contributions to the field of legal education and librarianship.
Patricia Coffman’s pioneering role as Tulane Law’s first female Law Librarian helped lay the foundation for generations of law librarians and scholars who followed. Her legacy endures in the strength of the institution she helped build and the example she set for women in legal academia.
