I remember teaching staff being too busy to see students because they were working on books. I also remember buying their books, paying real money and having th

I remember teaching staff being too busy to see students because they were working on books. I also remember buying their books, paying real money and having the burden to lug around. I would have preferred proper course notes from them, ones that I could have submitted change requests to where I found explanations lacking. I don't see that I am asking for something utopian, just collaboration instead of a poor business model. In my day job I don't think I would last long if I wrote code on the company time and then charged a backhander for the instructions/user manual. Yes I could claim it was my IP but it wouldn't wash, would it? As for textbook authors, there will always be a market for 'study guides' and such like that can give a student an advantage over their peers. These should compete on merit, i.e. being better than what that 'lousy lecturer wrote', but their purchase should not be a pre-requisite.