diff --git a/previewtool/previewApp.jsx b/previewtool/previewApp.jsx
index c441f80..5b884d3 100644
--- a/previewtool/previewApp.jsx
+++ b/previewtool/previewApp.jsx
@@ -152,14 +152,41 @@ window.addEventListener('load', async () => {
         const fs = fsRemoteCreateClient();
 
         //
-        // load ZooDb 
+        // Prepare the ZooDb default options
+        //
+
+        let defaultAppZooDbOptions = get_eczoo_full_options();
+
+        //
+        // load any existing citations cache to help our citations resolver
+        // because we don't have access to DOI & arXiv APIs due to their strict
+        // CORS settings
+        //
+
+        let loadedCitationsCache = {};
+        const fnameCitationsInfoCache = path.join(serverData.citationsinfo_cache_dir_default,
+                                                  'cache_compiled_citations.json');
+        try {
+            loadedCitationsCache = JSON.parse(
+                await fs.promises.readFile(fnameCitationsInfoCache)
+            );
+            debug(`Loaded citations cache file ‘${fnameCitationsInfoCache}’`,
+                  loadedCitationsCache);
+        } catch (error) {
+            console.warn(`Failed to load citations cache file ‘${fnameCitationsInfoCache}’, `
+                         + `will proceed without cached info.`, error);
+        }
+
+
+        //
+        // Finalize the ZooDb Options & load !
         //
 
         let appZooDbOptions = loMerge(
             //
             // our built-in default options/settings
             //
-            get_eczoo_full_options(),
+            defaultAppZooDbOptions,
 
             //
             // custom options & settings
@@ -180,19 +207,23 @@ window.addEventListener('load', async () => {
                             // their public APIs seem to have strict CORS settings
                             // meaning we can't call them from other web apps
                             doi: new CitationSourceApiPlaceholder({
-                                title: "DOI citation",
+                                title: (doi) => `[DOI \\verbcode{${doi}}; citation text will appear on production zoo website]`,
                                 cite_prefix: 'doi',
                                 test_url: (_, cite_key) => `https://doi.org/${cite_key}`,
+                                search_in_compiled_cache: loadedCitationsCache,
                             }),
                             arxiv: new CitationSourceApiPlaceholder({
-                                title: "arXiv [& DOI?] citation",
+                                title: (arxivid) => `[arXiv:${arxivid}; citation text will appear on production zoo website (& via DOI if published)]`,
                                 cite_prefix: 'arxiv',
                                 test_url: (_, cite_key) => `https://arxiv.org/abs/${cite_key}`,
+                                search_in_compiled_cache: loadedCitationsCache,
                             }),
                         },
-                        citation_manager_options: {
-                            skip_save_cache: true,
-                        }
+
+                        cache_dir: '_zoodb_live_preview_dummy_cache_shouldnt_be_created',
+                        cache_dir_create: false,
+
+                        skip_save_cache: true,
                     },
                     allow_unresolved_references: true,
                     allow_unresolved_citations: true,
@@ -209,6 +240,7 @@ window.addEventListener('load', async () => {
         );
 
         let zoodb = new EcZooDb( appZooDbOptions );
+
         zoodb.install_zoo_loader(new EcZooDbYamlDataLoader({
             schema_root: `file://${serverData.schema_root_dir}/`,
             throw_reload_errors: true,
diff --git a/previewtool/runPreview.js b/previewtool/runPreview.js
index c527b7a..52d7d40 100644
--- a/previewtool/runPreview.js
+++ b/previewtool/runPreview.js
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import path from 'path';
 
 import { PreviewAppServer } from '@phfaist/zoodbtools_previewremote/startRemotePreviewApp.js';
 
+import { citationsinfo_cache_dir_default } from '../eczoodb/dirs_defaults.js';
+
 
 const __filename = (new URL('', import.meta.url)).pathname;
 const __dirname = (new URL('.', import.meta.url)).pathname;
@@ -21,6 +23,7 @@ const settings = {
         'appData.json': {
             eczoo_data_dir: path.join(__dirname, '../../eczoo_data/'),
             schema_root_dir: path.join(__dirname, '../eczoodb/'),
+            citationsinfo_cache_dir_default,
         }
     },
 
diff --git a/site/site_data/eczoodb.js b/site/site_data/eczoodb.js
index 427c69d..053197b 100644
--- a/site/site_data/eczoodb.js
+++ b/site/site_data/eczoodb.js
@@ -15,15 +15,31 @@ module.exports = async (configData) => {
         const { EcZooDbYamlDataLoader } =
               await import('@errorcorrectionzoo/eczoodb/load_yamldb.js');
 
-        cached_eczoodb = new EcZooDb({
-            fs,
-            fs_data_dir: eczoo_config.data_dir,
-            ... get_eczoo_full_options()
-        });
-        cached_eczoodb.install_zoo_loader(new EcZooDbYamlDataLoader({ }));
+        try {
+
+            cached_eczoodb = new EcZooDb({
+                fs,
+                fs_data_dir: eczoo_config.data_dir,
+                ... get_eczoo_full_options()
+            });
+            cached_eczoodb.install_zoo_loader(new EcZooDbYamlDataLoader({ }));
+
+        } catch (err) {
+            console.error(err);
+            console.err(`ERROR INITIALIZING ZOO: ${err}`);
+            throw err;
+        }
     }
 
-    await cached_eczoodb.load();
+    try {
+
+        await cached_eczoodb.load();
+
+    } catch (err) {
+        console.error(err);
+        console.err(`ERROR LOADING ZOO: ${err}`);
+        throw err;
+    }
 
     return cached_eczoodb;
 };
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 8365fb2..d361a90 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -1893,7 +1893,7 @@ __metadata:
 
 "@phfaist/zoodb@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodb.git#main":
   version: 0.1.1
-  resolution: "@phfaist/zoodb@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodb.git#commit=05d73422d87d8cd07e0d92825785a46e684e8dc2"
+  resolution: "@phfaist/zoodb@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodb.git#commit=1cbbfd090565b92d6eaa4b4d53c7e9661f90e18f"
   dependencies:
     "@apidevtools/json-schema-ref-parser": ^10.1.0
     base32-encode: ^2.0.0
@@ -1915,13 +1915,13 @@ __metadata:
     stream-parser: ^0.3.1
     tippy.js: ^6.3.7
     url: ^0.11.0
-  checksum: 934416aaa0ffa462ec96a44ea459aad58f39bf26dcd7799170ec50b0bae206d6f21a1d7ca38cdfaecb60d58a68eb4bc8a9ec00b305824ec1d9242ece5ccb6449
+  checksum: 2852ab130bbe35afd63e872c61f6420f506d9a60ec903f0dd4aa87bd07e055f7e9a799a4fc194e2afc1d0f21f773586183a9cbc602ff9ca84da8645c57976537
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
 "@phfaist/zoodbtools_preview@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodbtools.git#head=main&workspace=zoodbtools_preview":
   version: 0.1.0
-  resolution: "@phfaist/zoodbtools_preview@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodbtools.git#workspace=zoodbtools_preview&commit=513f049b5969768c404778636a9aa5ae8a977615"
+  resolution: "@phfaist/zoodbtools_preview@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodbtools.git#workspace=zoodbtools_preview&commit=9f2c86132a64569e4772e6603b2491c7c7359c2f"
   dependencies:
     debug: ^4.3.4
     escape-html: ^1.0.3
@@ -1931,13 +1931,13 @@ __metadata:
     react-select: ^5.7.4
   peerDependencies:
     "@phfaist/zoodb": "*"
-  checksum: 16dc7f4084b1c46a1f817ff4604cb14a7de34e2afa38639abff7cd4bca4241c32ab545c702980965b9b5c6ae39c7c6da3e012cb843c6ab7d3a71e9c17048cc56
+  checksum: 73cbd526fb7749e0576fd61b76978f6b3d968796652c4b68455514c22a5f55eb871cff53efd36a25505f0095e2140ecaae5eb7a080af1b424cac504331788a6a
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
 "@phfaist/zoodbtools_previewremote@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodbtools.git#head=main&workspace=zoodbtools_previewremote":
   version: 0.1.0
-  resolution: "@phfaist/zoodbtools_previewremote@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodbtools.git#workspace=zoodbtools_previewremote&commit=513f049b5969768c404778636a9aa5ae8a977615"
+  resolution: "@phfaist/zoodbtools_previewremote@https://github.com/phfaist/zoodbtools.git#workspace=zoodbtools_previewremote&commit=9f2c86132a64569e4772e6603b2491c7c7359c2f"
   dependencies:
     debug: ^4.3.4
     fs-remote: ^0.1.9