With the growth of collective bargaining in California community colleges, the collective bargaining agreement has begun to replace faculty handbooks and college policy manuals as the statement of management/employee relations, work conditions, and benefits. This has led many to conclude that the college handbook is outmoded and inconsequential and should be eliminated. College handbooks can, however, have a continued role as information and rule supplements and as educational complements to collective agreements, stressing institutional purposes, curriculum construction, staff development, and other areas central to maintaining quality programs and services. A review of certified and classified employee handbooks and contracts received from 56 California community colleges with bargaining agreements revealed the following: (1) 17 of 36 certified employee handbooks made reference to collective bargaining agreements, with all 17 containing statements on the authenticity of the agreement and disclaimers about the informal status of non-contract information; (2) only 5 of 18 classified staff handbooks made reference to contractual agreements; (3) a similar disassociation from agreements was noted in 24 part-time faculty handbooks; and (4) certain sections were standard in the certified contracts studied (e.g., the association rights, benefits, compensation, and grievance procedures), though significant differences were found in relation to management rights clauses. College handbooks can have continued relevance if they are adapted to the new era of collective bargaining and supplement and complement the contract. (HB)