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2.4. Pre-Cat Checkouts
Last Updated 07/10/2026
Checking Out Items that Aren't in the Catalog
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If patrons find items on the shelf that fail to scan at checkout, staff may check the item out as a "Pre-Cat" checkout. This allows the patron to take the item out, and Evergreen will automatically route it to cataloging upon checkin. To use this function, staff should supply as much detail as possible in the checkout modal, and must include a circulation modifier to ensure the item circulates following the appropriate policy.
- Go to patron’s Check Out screen.
- Scan the item barcode.
- At prompt, enter the required information.
- Click Precat Checkout.
Required Information
Staff should enter at least the Title. Ideally, staff should enter any additional identifying information, including the author and an item identifier. This is labeled as ISBN in the modal, but may be the UPC or other standard identifier depending on the type of item being checked out.
Staff must enter the Circulation Modifier. The checkout will not work without this modifier, as it is used to identiy the correct circulation policy.
This screen does not respond to the enter key or carriage return provided by a barcode scanner when the cursor is in the ISBN field. This behavior prevents pre-cataloged items from being checked out before you are done entering all the desired information.
Routing the Item to Cataloging
On check-in, Evergreen will prompt staff to re-route the item to cataloging. Staff should never edit the UNCATALOGED item record attached to TCN -1 for these pre-cataloged circulations. There are instructions for correctly transferring the barcode to an appropriate bib record in the Moving Pre-cataloged Items to the Correct Bib Record page of the Item Cataloging knowledge book.