Random House’s $1-million gift

Random House Inc. announced Monday that it was donating $1 million to First Book, a nonprofit organization that has given millions of books to needy children since its founding in 1992.

“As publishing professionals who spend our days surrounded by and immersed in books, it is difficult to imagine a world without them,” Random House Chairman Peter Olson said in a statement.

“But this is a disturbing reality for millions of children in our country who do not have any books at all in their homes or schools or day-care centers. We know that one of the leading imperatives in raising the national literacy rate is to ensure that children have access to books.”