And kudos to you too, Jack C!

Those are excellent points about how to use books or song sheets proudly and effectively (as opposed to writing crib notes on your hand like some politicians).

I'm so glad you brought up poetry and dramatic readings.   I saw and heard Basil Rathbone do a poetry reading once, where he did just as you mentioned: held a book in hand, sometimes waving it about with a flourish, but all so expertly that what stands out in my memory of the 'concert' was his dramatic and/or comic delivery of the poems.   And I've seen whole plays delivered as "dramatic readings," with the actors sitting in a semi-circle, scripts in front of them, acting out the whole dialog, with gestures, relating to each other and the audience -- very professionally and effectively.

Howard, while it's true that a lot of people in singarounds and song circles are hack amateurs and sometimes rely on a book when they could, with a little effort, learn a song,
I can't accept your assertion that "in the majority of cases the people using books are not good performers."
At least in Portland and Seattle, in the jams and song circles I frequent, there are many accomplished, excellent musicians and singers -- some semi-professional (having commercial CDs, doing paid gigs, but having a "day job" too -- who routinely have a loose-leaf binder open in front of them when they are presenting or leading a song.   
The performance -- including the backup singing by the group, who may also have a song sheet in hand -- often sounds so good that it could be included on a live-performance CD.