Photo: Phydend at English Wikipedia · Public domainBuena Park’s library runs 3.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Buena Park Library District serves Buena Park’s 82,689 residents. Last year it lent 212K books, movies and e-books and logged 131K visits.
The short version on Buena Park’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
53% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 47%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Buena Park Library District offered 268 programs last year, 3.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 268 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 57% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Buena Park’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Buena Park is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #365 of 448 in California. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($83K–$138K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
160 community nonprofits are registered in Buena Park
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (178 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 24 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.1%
3.1% of Buena Park’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical California town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Buena Park’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Buena Park Library District serves 82,689 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 87 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
212K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 123K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
28,958 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Buena Park last year.
Find it
Buena Park Library District, 7150 La Palma Ave., Buena Park.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Buena Park? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Buena Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 35,239 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Buena Park ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim | Anaheim Public Library - Central | 3.1 | 43 | D− |
| Fullerton | Fullerton Main Library fine-free | 2.9 | 36 | D |
| Buena Park | Buena Park Library District fine-free | 2.6 | 52 | D− |
| La Palma | La Palma Branch Library fine-free | — | 44 | D |
| Cypress | Cypress Branch Library fine-free | — | 28 | C− |
| La Mirada | La Mirada Library fine-free | — | 40 | D |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Buena Park
Does Buena Park have a public library?
Yes. Buena Park Library District, 7150 La Palma Ave., serves Buena Park’s 82,689 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Buena Park Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Buena Park’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Buena Park’s civic life grade?
D− Buena Park is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #365 of 448 in California. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Buena Park.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.