John Vinson Richardson Jr. is an American professor of information studies at University of California, Los Angeles, with a significant record of research and publications on intelligent question answering systems, reference service, and history of librarianship. His current research focuses on assessment and evaluation issues related to virtual reference (i.e., chat) such as time in queue, service duration, content analysis or microanalysis of questions, as well as user satisfaction. Currently, Richardson also serves as an adjunct professor in the School of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University in NSW, Australia.