Our Namesake: The Gould Family

The Gould Family (left to right): Bruce K. Gould ’84; Jean Gould; Norman Gould; Jeffrey Gould; and L. Robert Gould ’92.

When the original Law Library of Congress burned down during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson sold his personal collection to the United States Government as a replacement. In 1815, Jefferson wrote to John Adams:

“I cannot live without books.”
This sentiment is shared by the Gould family, in whose honor this library is named.

The Gould Family Law Library was made possible through the generosity of the Gould family: mother and father Jean and Norman, and sons Bruce, Jeffrey, and Robert. All are long and valued supporters of the Law Center, notable for their unwavering commitment to legal training and the written word.

Bruce Gould, a member of Touro’s Class of 1984, served as President of the Student Bar Association, was a founding member and the second president of the Law Center Alumni Association and continues as an active member of the school’s Board of Visitors. He established the school’s first endowed faculty chair, The Bruce K. Gould Distinguished Professor of Law, and created the Bruce K. Gould Book Award, a nationally recognized honor bestowed annually by the Law Center on the author of an outstanding publication in the legal field.

Jean and Norman Gould started Gould Publications in the 1950’s. Under their stewardship the small, family-owned company grew over the years into one of the nation’s leading law book publishers.

The Law Center celebrates the Gould family’s proud tradition of support for philanthropic, religious, secular and educational endeavors, of which the Gould Family Law Library serves as a fitting memorial and permanent legacy.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony at the official dedication of the Gould Law Library on March 31, 2008.

Bruce K. Gould ’84, Professor and Library Director April Schwartz, Rabbi Howard R. Buechler, and Dean Lawrence Raful at the opening of an exhibit at the Gould Law Library entitled “The Art of Early Printed Books: Judaica Gems and English Bibles from the Collection of Rabbi Howard R. Buechler.”

Dean Lawrence Raful, Bruce K. Gould ’84, and U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd at the presentation of the Bruce K. Gould Book Award on March 31, 2008. Senator Dodd received the award for his book, Letters from Nuremberg: My Father’s Narrative of a Quest for Justice.