Library employees in St. Charles County, Missouri have been ordered to strip their desks of LGBTQ pride flags and other items promoting personal beliefs.

Employees were told workspace displays should “not promote personal beliefs, social agendas, political affiliations, advocacy positions, social positions or personal identity expression.” That was in an internal memo, obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, sent to staff by St. Charles City-County Library CEO John Griefzu.

The rule also applies to screensavers, stickers and reusable cups. Staff can only display the American or Missouri state flags.

Greifzu says administrators recently discovered the district wasn’t uniformly applying a code of ethics that dates back to 2018. Over the years, workers have also had to remove pro-police flags and a Cardinals baseball banner. 

“All of those flags have some type of public position or advocacy for a specific group of people. Our position is that we are not here to advocate, but here to create an impartial environment that is neutral on these issues,” Greifzu said.

The code of ethics does not affect books or reading materials available through the library system. Books featuring rainbow flags and LGBTQ themes will remain in their buildings.

As for library exhibits, the policy states they must be suitable for a general audience and can’t endorse political parties or ballot measures. Brand managers review the content of those exhibits and senior staff select the themes across the library system.