Our doctor's surgery places the receptionists in a space that sticks into the room. There's a perspex screen that they've treated as a notice board, now almost completely covered in notices with random rules and guidance.
I don't think the notices are there only or even mainly to give information - there's another notice board across the room. They are there to make the receptionists feel more secure.
One of Christopher Alexander's design patterns describes this: 183 Workspace enclosures.
"People cannot work effectively if their workspace is too enclosed or too exposed... You feel more comfortable in a workspace if there is a wall behind you. (If your back is exposed you feel vulnerable–you can never tell if someone is looking at you, or if someone is coming towards you from behind.)"
I wondered if the gap at the back is there because they hadn't enough notices. But I'm pretty sure it is for them to look out through to check who is in the room.
