diff --git a/installer/data/mysql/atomicupdate/bug_22996.perl b/installer/data/mysql/atomicupdate/bug_22996.perl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c90d71b432
--- /dev/null
+++ b/installer/data/mysql/atomicupdate/bug_22996.perl
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+$DBversion = 'XXX'; # will be replaced by the RM
+if( CheckVersion( $DBversion ) ) {
+    $dbh->do( q/INSERT IGNORE INTO systempreferences (variable,value,options,explanation,type) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)/, undef, 'BarcodeSeparators','\s\r\n','','Splitting characters for barcodes','Free' );
+    SetVersion( $DBversion );
+    print "Upgrade to $DBversion done (Bug 22996 - Add pref BarcodeSeparators)\n";
+}
diff --git a/installer/data/mysql/sysprefs.sql b/installer/data/mysql/sysprefs.sql
index f61c042a47..807bef0596 100644
--- a/installer/data/mysql/sysprefs.sql
+++ b/installer/data/mysql/sysprefs.sql
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ INSERT INTO systempreferences ( `variable`, `value`, `options`, `explanation`, `
 ('BakerTaylorEnabled','0','','Enable or disable all Baker & Taylor features.','YesNo'),
 ('BakerTaylorPassword','','','Baker & Taylor Password for Content Cafe (external content)','Free'),
 ('BakerTaylorUsername','','','Baker & Taylor Username for Content Cafe (external content)','Free'),
+('BarcodeSeparators','\\s\\r\\n','','Splitting characters for barcodes','Free'),
 ('BasketConfirmations','1','always ask for confirmation.|do not ask for confirmation.','When closing or reopening a basket,','Choice'),
 ('BatchCheckouts','0','','Enable or disable batch checkouts','YesNo'),
 ('BatchCheckoutsValidCategories','',NULL,'Patron categories allowed to checkout in a batch','Free'),
diff --git a/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/preferences/tools.pref b/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/preferences/tools.pref
index 52dfd8509c..1d4f2965ef 100644
--- a/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/preferences/tools.pref
+++ b/koha-tmpl/intranet-tmpl/prog/en/modules/admin/preferences/tools.pref
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
 Tools:
+    Barcodes:
+        -
+            - Split barcodes on the following separator chars
+            - pref: BarcodeSeparators
+              default: '\s\r\n'
+            - "in batch item modification and inventory.<br/>Note: Type \\r for carriage return, \\n for newline and \\s for whitespace. Possible candidates to include also are pipe char |, hyphen (precede with backslash), comma, semicolon, dot, etc."
     Batch item:
         -
             - Process up to