CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
According to Chang, K. T. (2008), Geographic Information Retrieval System (GIRS) is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage and present all types of geographical data. The acronym GIRS is sometimes used for geographical information science or geospatial information a study which refers to the academic discipline or career of working with geographic information system. In simplest terms GIRS is the merging of cartography, statistical analysis and database technology.
A geographical information retrieval system can be thought of as a system which digitally creates and manipulates spatial areas that may be jurisdictional, purpose or application- oriented. Generally, a GIRS can be custom designed for an organization. Hence, a GIS developed for an application jurisdiction, enterprise or purpose may not be necessarily interoperable or compatible with a GIRS that has been developed for some other application, jurisdiction, enterprise or purpose. What goes beyond a GIRS is a spatial infrastructure, a concept that has no such restrictive boundaries.
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In general sense, the term GIRS describes any information system that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares and displays geographic information for informed decision making. GIRS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user – created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data in maps and present the result of all these operations. Geographic information science is the science underlying geographic concepts, applications and systems.
The link between geography and information technology can not to a very large extent be over- emphasized.
Using Enugu State tourism board as a case study has helped to give a comprehensive understanding of the importance and the need of a geographic information system, as it is believed, information technology has a significant role in geographic information system and high level of expectations would and is already being demanded from its use both in Nigeria and the world at large.