The Productive Scholar: What Are Digital Map Datasets and Geographic Information Systems? A Geographic Information System (GIS) is powerful research tool that allows a person to capture, store, view, manipulate, analyze, manage, and display all forms of geographically referenced data. Princeton faculty, students and staff use GIS technology to manage resources, explore spatial relationships, and visualize change. This presentation will provide an introductory overview to the technology and its capabilities, and highlight the services and geographic data provided by the Library and OIT.