The aim of this study was to determine whether the pulsed infrared (IR) TEA CO2 laser (wavelength 10.6 pm) is a suitable instrument for cleaning various types of library materials (collagen material, paper and textiles). The basic requirement was to remove surface contamination while avoiding material degradation. The threshold intensity at which ablation of impurities from the surface begins and the threshold intensity at which material degradation begins were determined. Subsequently, the parameters of cleaning while using the pulsed IR TEA CO2 laser were compared with four commonly used mechanical cleaning methods. The results revealed that under selected conditions of use, cleaning with the pulsed IRTEA CO2 laser shows good results and has a potential to become an alternative to traditional methods.\n