Buena Park is a city located in northwestern Orange County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 78,282. The city is located adjacent to the city of Anaheim and is located 12 miles (20 km) northwest of downtown Santa Ana. It was founded by James A. Whitaker, a wholesale grocer from Chicago in 1887 and incorporated in 1953. An agricultural center at its founding, particularly dairy, wine and citrus products, the city is now primarily a residential suburb. The Current OMB metropolitan designation for Buena Park and the Orange County Area is "Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA." Buena Park is home to several tourist attractions, most notably Knott's Berry Farm (see Points of interest).

Buena Park is additionally home to one of the 13 special district libraries in the State of California. The Buena Park Library District  is a single-purpose library district governed by an elected Board of Trustees, and has as its principal source of income a small property tax proration. The library's early history is much like other communities: it operated on and off as a volunteer operation beginning in 1905 at several temporary locations with donated books. It was formally established as a library district through the efforts of the Buena Park Woman's Club in 1919, and, through a few more building changes, is now located at 7150 La Palma Avenue, between Knott Avenue and Western Avenue. The current facility's construction was completed in early 1969 financed by a bond measure passed by the citizens of Buena Park on June 6, 1967. The community's library holds over 125,000 library materials from books to music CD's, magazines to movies, and provides a number of free public programs for all ages every week. It has free Internet service, and free library cards to all California residents. The library also has photocopier and fax services for small fees. The library is also a US Passport Acceptance Agency for the U.S. Department of State and its service hours are posted at both the Passport Acceptance Agency's and the library's web sites. Its support group, the Volunteer Guild of the Buena Park Library, runs a bookstore and sells gently used materials. The bookstore is located on the Library's second floor.

Construction on a Metrolink Orange County Line station in Buena Park started in January 2006. It is expected to open in early 2007.