Python 2.6 and Sqlite3 - Slow

Sun Aug 26 21:23:31 EDT 2012

My program uses Python 2.6 and Sqlite3 and connects to a network database 100 miles away. 
My program reads approx 60 records (4000 bytes) from a Sqlite database in less than a second. 
Each time the user requests data, my program can continuously read 60 records in less than a second. 
However, if I access the network drive (e.g. DOS command DIR /S) while my program is running, my program takes 20 seconds to read the same 60 records. If I restart my program, my program once again takes less than a second to read 60 records.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Bruce