The Barbara Coffin papers date from 1944 to 2006 and measure 12 linear inches. The bulk of the records relate to the lawsuit that Coffin filed along with fellow policewoman Karlene Piper against the city of Waterloo. These documents include exhibits presented by Coffin and Piper's attorney as well as transcripts of the testimony given by witnesses before the Civil Service Commission of Waterloo. Coffin and Piper wanted their civil service status to begin with their start date as city hostesses rather than their start date as policewomen because the start date affected their seniority, pay, and retirement eligibility dates. As a result of the lawsuit, the city of Waterloo agreed to backdate their start date to the date they applied and took the test to be policewomen, but not to the date they were hired as city hostesses. The miscellaneous folder contains Roxanne Conlin's closing arguments before the Civil Service Commission, the settlement agreement reached in district court, and the lawyer fee agreement.

The biographical information consists of certificates Coffin received for additional training relating to police work and a newspaper article on her work with ceramics after her retirement. The City hostess folder contains three images of Barbara Brucher in her city hostess uniform: two of Brucher and her fellow hostesses in their 'Hot Pink' summer uniforms from 1967, and one of Brucher writing tickets in a parking lot in 1968. The policewoman folder contains newspaper clippings which chronicle significant events in Coffin's career as a Waterloo police officer: assisting in the apprehension of James Michael 'T-bone' Taylor, filing a discrimination suit against the city of Waterloo, giving talks on safety to the community, and retiring in 1996. The folder also contains letters Coffin wrote to citizens commending them for speaking out when they saw a crime being committed.

Artifacts include the trophy Coffin (at the time Barbara Rogers) won for 2nd place in the women's class of a police sharp shooting contest. Barbara Coffin's police shirt, tailored at the waist to fit a woman, is navy blue with a patch on either sleeve that reads 'Waterloo Police and Vigilance.' Photographs of Coffin and coworkers as city hostesses and policewomen have been printed from two CD-ROMs, which are also part of the collection. The CD-ROMs can only be opened and printed on a Macintosh.