diff --git a/fairchive-webapp/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/settings/SettingsServiceBean.java b/fairchive-webapp/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/settings/SettingsServiceBean.java
index a12e9405ff..edd67f269e 100644
--- a/fairchive-webapp/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/settings/SettingsServiceBean.java
+++ b/fairchive-webapp/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/settings/SettingsServiceBean.java
@@ -911,7 +911,8 @@ public String getValueForKey(final Key key) {
     }
     
     public String getValueForKey(final Key key, final String defaultValue) {
-        return get(key.toString());
+    	final String val = this.getValueForKey(key);
+		return isNotBlank(val) ? val.trim() : defaultValue;
     }
 
     /**