After five months of preparation, the Office of the Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III has released Harvard's first handbook on race, relations, Epps said yesterday.

The handbook, which was distributed to houses and departments, is largely devoted to listing the resources at Harvard dealing with race relations and minority affairs.

It outlines the procedures for filing complaints about racial harassment and insensitivity, and lists organizations that provide counseling for students who have faced have faced harassment or discrimination.

Epps said he wants students to use the handbook to obtain information on faculty, courses and organizations dealing with race relations. In the future, he said, updated versions of the handbook may be distributed to students and departments at the beginning of each semester.

"I hope it sets a good standard that we can use," he said. "Its purpose is to [map out] the race relations environment as comprehensively as possible so people know the resources at Harvard so in the future Harvard can provide information at the beginning of each semester."

The publication also includes several essays on race relations by faculty and administrators, such as Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles and DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The last page of the handbook is an advertisement from the Coop. The people pictured in the ad--singer k.d. lang. Popeye, a model and two cartoon characters are all white.

The handbook contains no pieces written by students. Epps said he had not consulted with student groups on the handbook's content.

The handbook takes no official positions or stances, and does not attempt to describe race relations on campus.

Epps said the feedback he has heard since the handbook's release has been uniformly positive.

But Joan R. Chen '95, co-chair of the Asian American Association (AAA), expressed disappointment that the handbook contains no description of racial tensions on campus or of a coalition of minority student groups and its recent push for a multicultural center.

"Our concern is that the time and money that went into this could have gone to help other minorities on campus," she said yesterday. "I'm not saying it's not important to educate the Harvard community, but I don't think if someone is not aware about race relations...this would bring them enough information for them to come upon a revelation."

Chen--who said Epps called her Several weeks ago to request information about AAA activities for the handbook--said all of the material in the handbook is available from other Harvard handbooks and publications. "I guess it's informational for the average student on campus, but for minority students, a lot of this stuff we already know," she said.

One hundred handbooks were sent to each house, 300 were sent to the Union and five were sent to each department, according to Epps. He admitted that he was unable to provide a handbook for every undergraduate, but said his office had tried to gauge potential demand.

Handbook distribution seems to have been inadequate in some areas. Chen said there were no books available last night in Quincy House, where she lives.

And Julia M. Reyes '95, chair of La O, said her house, Cabot, ran out of books Tuesday before she could get a copy.

"They ran out very quickly," she said. "They said they were going to have some more later in the week.