Particles act as though they are spinning and have angular momentum due to this. However, they do not actually spin in a classical manner, and it is a purely Quantum Mechanical property. The number indicates what amount of a rotation results in the object ending up in its original orientation, e.g. the Electron with spin of requires half a rotation before ending up in its original orientation.

Spin can be treated kind of like angular momentum except we use and instead of and

where positive is Up and negative is Down

See also

Quantum Mechanics