diff --git a/src/caoscrawler/identifiable_adapters.py b/src/caoscrawler/identifiable_adapters.py
index da8ebaf23c5071077c957f3155c8a64f7129653f..40c801547a85afaf32e1ab6a668bc47d98d60b66 100644
--- a/src/caoscrawler/identifiable_adapters.py
+++ b/src/caoscrawler/identifiable_adapters.py
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import yaml
 
 from datetime import datetime
+from typing import Any
 from .identifiable import Identifiable
 import caosdb as db
 import logging
@@ -35,14 +36,14 @@ from .utils import has_parent
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-def convert_value(value):
+def convert_value(value: Any):
     """ Returns a string representation of the value that is suitable
     to be used in the query
     looking for the identified record.
 
     Parameters
     ----------
-    value : the value that shall be returned and potentially converted.
+    value : Any type, the value that shall be returned and potentially converted.
 
     Returns
     -------
diff --git a/unittests/test_identifiable_adapters.py b/unittests/test_identifiable_adapters.py
index 06ea8cdfdb782d23baf5910837203d31d99c9e2a..c3b44e1c8e3775fc6e8b7118b82ffa6a20bef484 100644
--- a/unittests/test_identifiable_adapters.py
+++ b/unittests/test_identifiable_adapters.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ test identifiable_adapters module
 import os
 from datetime import datetime
 from caoscrawler.identifiable_adapters import (
-    CaosDBIdentifiableAdapter, IdentifiableAdapter)
+    CaosDBIdentifiableAdapter, convert_value, IdentifiableAdapter)
 from caoscrawler.identifiable import Identifiable
 import caosdb as db
 
@@ -99,3 +99,12 @@ def test_load_from_yaml_file():
     assert project_i is not None
     assert project_i.get_property("project_id") is not None
     assert project_i.get_property("title") is not None
+
+
+def test_convert_value():
+    # test that string representation of objects stay unchanged. No stripping or so.
+    class A():
+        def __repr__(self):
+            return " a "
+
+    assert convert_value(A()) == " a "